The Crow and the Coyote
by ffbeginner22
Summary: When Kalin Kessler brings the old gang to Enforcer Town for a big announcement one certain "Trick Star" will be in for the shock of his life... and might actually like it. Crow x OC *Sorry y'all but i'm trying to finish another story so this one will be on hiatus until further notice. Again, sorry and plz keep  on web. It may get shut down! Pass it on!*
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Turnout

**The Crow and the Coyote**

**Chapter 1: An Unexpected Turnout**

"Kyona! I'm gonna get you!" yelled the voice of ten year old Crow Hogan as he chased a girl with jet black hair down an alleyway.

"Oh lighten up Birdie!" the girl cried back over her shoulder with a laugh. "You should be thanking me for hiding that ugly dye job of yours!"

Face turning red Crow sped up to his quarry, "It was my natural color and you know it!"

Jumping over an overturned trashcan Kyona said, "Then I really did do you a favor! Besides _that_ is more of your color anyway!"

They continued their banter for a few more blocks while two other boys tried to keep up with them. This was really difficult because they were too busy trying to stifle their laughter at their friend's predicament, and always seemed to trip over themselves as they ran to catch up.

Earlier that day Kyona had 'accidentally' dropped a bucket of pink paint on Crow's head, and, try as he might, he could not get it out of his hair. Martha had assured him it would only last a few days, since the once orange-red head refused to have it cut or shaven, and said that Kyona would be properly punished. But Crow did not want punishment. He wanted revenge.

So here he was, chasing after the offensive girl down an abandoned block of the Satelite Sector near the old subway turminol while his two "friends", Jack Atlas and Yusei Fudo, tried not to kill themselves before they reached them.

"C-Crow! W-w-wait up!" the black-haired boy, Yusei, yelled inbetween surpressed giggles.

"No need to make a bigger fool of yourself, mate!" the blonde-haired boy, Jack, shouted bluntly before nearly collapsing on the ground with his own surpressed laughter.

"When I'm done with her, you're next Jack!" the pink-haired boy screamed.

Suddenly Kyona came to a stop in front of wall in a dead-end alley not far from where their chase began.

"Gotcha!" Crow said in a victorious cry, pointing at his prey. "Now you're gonna get it, Kyona!"

As Crow made his way to her he could not help but take in her ten year old appearance. Her black hair was tinted with bits of silver at the ends and along her temples, and only came to her shoulders in soft waves. Her skin was a smooth coppery color with high cheek bones, and she had narrow, cat-like golden-brown eyes that were searching around her surroundings, possibly for an exit. She was dressed in black pants, black flip-flops, and black short-sleeved shirt with white trim along the neck and sleeves.

_"If I wasn't so mad I'd say she looked cute. Wait! What am I thinking?"_ Crow thought as he was closing gap between them and only stop when he was a foot away.

Putting her hands up in surrender and smiling at her captive Kyona said, "Okay, Crow, you got me. Now what are you going to do with me? Beat me up? Pull my own hair out? Give me a warning and tell me not to do it again?"

"No, no and nice try," he responded. "I'm going to drag you all the way back to Martha's so she can give you a good punishment. Just let me find some rope."

Pulling on a piece of it that was hanging from a hole in the wall Kyona handed the end to him, "Since you came this far, here's some."

"Than- what the..."

Before he could finish Kyona tied his wrists together behind his with that piece of rope, and, very quickly, tied another piece of rope around his right. Then she tied that to his wrists and tied his remaining foot to two rings that were attached to the ground. Finally, she took his pierced headband and tightened it around her mouth and stood back to admire her work.

"Hold that pose," the dark-haired girl laughed then she pulled a final rope and ran off.

Looking up as best as he could from his position Crow saw an avalanch of pink paint and matching feathers come at him before...

"NO! NOT THAT!" a figure shouted at the same time his alarm clock went off.

Shooting out of bed at the sound the man went to the full-length mirror on his wall. Instead of a ten year old covered head-to-toe in pink paint and feathers looking back at him there stood an average-height, toned, semi-muscular, twenty-five year old, orange-red head by the name of Crow Hogan, the "trick star" of the Ace Dueling League.

His hair was in disarray, more so than his trade mark style, his criminal-marked face was sweaty and his dark-grey eyes looked tired, which was something he was not used to by any means. He was in his usual sleepwear- orange short-sleeved shirt and black shorts- but even they seemed to be soaked with sweat, as though he did just run that long distance after that dark girl.

After a few deep breaths Crow was able to calm himself down. This was his time off for a well-earned vacation.

_"And there's no way I'm letting that girl ruin it!" _he thought to himself as he got ready to take a shower.

However another thought concerning that same girl came worming its way to his conscienceness, _"I wonder what she's been doing these last fifteen years. I bet she's still kinda cu- Stop it Crow! No more thinking about Kyona! Who? That's better!"_

"Yo! How have you been Kalin?" Crow said into the audio/visual screen of his home's calling room, looking at the silver-blonde haired face of his old friend, Kalin Kessler. "How are things in Enforcer Town?"

Laughing Kalin replied, "Pretty good. Had a few squabbles every now and then, but nothing I can't handle. Actually, the reason why I called is because I need you to come here when you can."

Smiling the orange-head boasted, "Well you're in luck! I happen to be on vacation for a while near there, so I'll see you very soon!"

"Great," Kalin said, "then could you come around eleven o'clock? I'll meet you at the entrance to town and I'll take you to where I'll explain."

"Eleven? No probs! See ya Kalin!" With that the two signed off and Crow went back to his room to pack a few things.

_"Like Martha always said 'No matter where you're going, always go prepared',"_ he thought, then he became sad.

His caretaker had died two years after Team 5Ds split up to go make their own futures, leaving the orphange to another old aquaintence of his, Drew Currior. He was likeable enough, and he really did like the kids there, so there was nothing to worry about.

_"Enough sad thoughts! You got to get going and pack before eleven!"_

With that final bit of gusto he packed two sets of shirts, pants, socks, underwear, his toothbrush, some toothpaste, a washcloth and drying towel, soap, and a few sheets of toilet paper to be on the safe side.

Once packed he put the suitcase in a compartment of his Duel Runner, the Blackbird, put on his helmet and set off for Enforcer Town, his thoughts wondering as to what his former team leader had to say.

_"It must be something important if he wants to talk in person. It'll probably be something along the lines of well-earned publicity, what with the town actually expanding since we kicked out Lawton and his duel gang," _he reasoned.

Five years ago Kalin had went to the town, formally known as Crash Town, to find an opponent that could beat him and end his dueling career because he wanted to pay for what he did when he was a Dark Signer. A woman by the name of Barb had contacted Yusei to beat Kalin under the pretense of wanting to save him, but that quickly went south when it turned out that she was the duel gang leader's girlfriend and just wanted to get the top duelists out of the way. After that she double-crossed her boyfriend, Marcus, and it was revealed that she was working with his brother, Lawton, once she obtained the deed to the town for her "fine work".

But then Yusei and Kalin dueled against Lawton, and before he could get away Crow and Jack then joined the fun and dethrowned the new "ruler" of Crash Town.

Since then the town, now name Enforcer Town after their old team, had expanded because so many people and their families wanted to start over with a new hope and everybody could duel freely. From the letters and messages Kalin had sent there was a small Duel Academy in the town, along with a hospital, a jailhouse and a marshall's office where Kalin had taken up residence along with his adopted brother and sister, Nico and West.

As Crow finished pondering these thoughts a dark blue Duel Runner came at him, ran passed, turned around, and came up beside him.

"About time you got here!" the driver exclaimed with a laugh.

"Shouldn't you be watching your own speed limit, Marshall Kessler!" Crow yelled back at his friend, and they both made their way through the lanes that divided the Old Western-style town in a healthy fit of laughter.

Along the way many people came out of the buildings to look at who the new arrival was with the marshall. When they saw who it was by the trademark wings of the black Duel Runner everybody cheered and screamed the rider's name. Many started waving pictures and pens to indicate the want for an autograph from the grinnning and waving Trick Star.

"Not getting much attention, are you Crow?" Kalin said in a sarcastic manner but still with a grin.

Shrugging his shoulders Crow stopped his little display and continued to follow Kalin to the meeting spot.

It was an old fashioned Western-style hacienda with a large courtyard, a fountain at the eastern and western walls, and was strung up with decorative, unlit paper lanterns of every color. Wooden rails were put up along the archways of the walls and there were tables, chairs and people sitting at them enjoying what appeared to be a duel.

The duo had parked their Runners in two available spots and went inside the mansion from the front, since they had to park at the side due to the large crowd.

Upon asking Kalin what all of these people were doing here Crow looked up and spied a silver neon sign with the words "Martha's Place" hanging on the space above the door they went in.

Inside the crowd was larger and noisier. There were more tables and booth seats along the walls that surrounded the entrance, each draped with a different handmade quilt with beads dangling from the ends of the colored strings. There were people in uniforms that had the place's name on their shirts bringing the people more drinks, their orders of food- which really appetizing to a hungry Crow- and their was a group of five people with different instruments and microphones filling the place with country/rock music.

Feeling a tug on his arm Crow looked in time to see Kalin drag him to another part of the mansion. This part was much quieter and more spacious than the last part they were in.

"Sorry about that. I would've taken you through the back entrance, but the owner said I'm not allowed there, even if I am the marshall," the silver-blonde said with a grin.

Looking around Crow voiced something that was nagging at him since he got there, "Wasn't this place Marcus's old pad? And what's with all the people near the front?"

Stopping at a column Kalin leaned on it and answered, "Yes, this was Marcus's old place but once he was kicked out all of his, the gang's, and Barb's things were either auctioned off to raise funds or burned. Mostly burned because nobody wanted anything that those yahoos touched.

"As for your second question," Kalin continued, "a young woman bought this place two years ago and converted half of it into a restaurant, and left the other half for her home, though she will rent the remaining rooms out to people who need it. Those people that we saw are her constant patrons from the town and from neighboring cities."

Whistling Crow said, "This seems like a good set up, but how did she come up with the name?"

Sighing a looking a little sad for the first time that day Kalin replied, "The woman who owns this place used to be one of the people from the orphange you, Yusei and Jack grew up in. She named it after the woman who raised all of you..."

"Martha," Crow finished and his eyes were starting to brim over. Turning quickly he said, "Well that was very sweet of her, whoever she is, and I'll have to thank her when I meet her. Speaking of which, who is she?"

Breaking into a devilish grin Kalin began redragging Crow to a large room in front of them. "You'll find out," he said in a sing-song voice.

When he opend the door Crow's jaw dropped. Inside of the room, sitting at a long mahogany table, was all of his former teammates and friends from the WRGP.

Jack Atlas was in his gold trimmed white trenchcoat, matching pants and shirt at one end of the table. Beside him on his left was- from what Crow could tell- Carly Carmine, but instead of her trademark trifocal glasses she appeared to be wearing contants that better flattered her hazel eyes, her hair was pinned back in a half-ponytail and she was wearing a light lavender dress. Yusei Fudo was at the other end of the table wearing a sleeveless black shirt, dark blue jeans, and his motorcycle boots. Akiza Izinski was sitting close to him on his right in a dark, rose madder business suit-dress, with a blue shirt underneath. Finally, there were the twins, Leo and Luna, in the middle of the table, wearing their upperclass uniforms from Duel Academy and their hair still in their respective ponytails.

But two more women were there as well. Sitting between Luna and Akiza was Sherry LaBlanc in her signature rider's outfit that was supposed to resemble a knight's armor. Sitting between Leo and Carly was Misty Tredwell in a simple cream-colored dress with baby-blue trim.

"You going to say something or are you just going to stay there gaping like a fish?" Jack asked bluntly while Carly playfully slapped his shoulder.

Snapping out of it Crow regained his grin and made his way to the table amidst the cries of "hello's" and "how are you's" while Kalin went to the other side of the table and stood behind Misty, placing a hand on her shoulder and her hand on his, smiles on both of their faces.

"Is everybody here then?" he asked the dark-haired girl in front of him.

"Almost. She had to go get drinks, but I think she'll be back. You just missed her by a few minutes," the supermodel responded.

Casting his eyes at the newcomer Kalin said, "Maybe it was for the best. I don't think I would like to spend the rest of the day cleaning up a mess on her floors."

"She? Her?" Crow asked his other friends, completely bewildered.

Trying to surpress a growing grin Yusei said, "You'll find out once she gets back."

Just then they heard footsteps coming their way, each one pronounced with the jingle of spurs with each stomp. They also heard a strong humming sound carrying a tune, probably from the band in the restaurant area. It sounded quite catchy, slightly punctuated by a few lyrics every other second.

"She definitly has been working on her vocal chords, huh, Yusei?" Jack asked with a knowing smile at his spiky-haired friend.

Yusei just nodded his head, trying to stop his facial muscles from betraying what he was feeling and thinking.

Sherry's bodyguard, Elsworth, opened the door from his hidden post in the shadows when the steps came near the door.

Before Crow could ask who the mysterious "she/her" was a voice carried into the room. A very familiar, somewhat angelic voice.

"Alright! Got the drinks here so let's get this meeting sta-," the woman behind Crow's unturned back stopped, her eyes grazed the back of him from top to bottom then back, and a sneaky smile played on her lips.

Making her voice both sweet and devilish at the same time the woman said, "Well, hello again...Birdie."

At that last word Crow turned his head and his face held the look of utter disbelief and horror as he saw her, a tray of drinks in hand.

_"No! It can't be! Please tell me that's not..."_

**A.N. Anybody care to guess as to who the mysterious woman is? (:D)**

**This is my first Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds fanfic about the funny and near-unknown Crow Hogan. Hope you all enjoy and feel free to check out my other fanfic stories in the Harry Potter forum under "Lily Evans Potter/Severus Snape, romance/drama".**


	2. Chapter 2: Announcements

**Chapter 2: Announcements**

"Hey Kyona! About time you got here!" Kalin exclaimed, trying to overcome the laugh that was slowly taking him over.

Giving him a playfully irritated look Kyona replied, "_You_ try running a restaurant sometime, _Marshall_, and we'll see just how long it takes you to get tweleve drinks."

She continued talking as she made her way to the table of friends, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it's tough trying to own and run a restaurant, even with competent staff that you treat like family. You got make sure the food tastes great; the facilities are up to or above health code; keeping the staff from being harrassed from overindulged bozos; keeping said bozos out so they can't make the same mistake, and..."

she paused, backing up to Crow, who's jaw dropped the second time that day, and cupped it with her free hand. "Keeping any stray winds from blowing out."

With that she raised Crow's mouth shut and continued to the table, leaving him red in the face. Yet it was not just from being humiliated in front of his friends.

_"Kyona's become even cuter. No, not cuter. She's...beautiful!"_ he could not help but think as he sat down at Yusei's right hand while the restaurantier served the drinks to everybody.

From the corner of his eye Crow watched her every movement like it was in slow-motion, and began to really drink in her appearance from the bottom up.

Kyona was wearing boot cut, dark blue jeans that were frayed at the bottom over a pair of spurred, brown boots that seemed to come up at the knees from under the sturdy cloth. She wore brown belt with a beaded buckle that was stitched just right so that were tiny waist was comfortable. Her mid-drift was bare, displaying a toned stomach with what looked like a feminine six pack, and was surrounded by a light blue jean vest with beaded tassles at the pockets. The miniture shirt she wore underneath was black with the restaurant's name on it, like the other employees, circled in silver and there was a small "v" at the chest displaying a small amount of her...well-endowed chest.

Her hair was in a ponytail, except for two strands that were tied in red ribbon, and it displayed her high-cheek bones better. Her eyes were still the same shade of golden-brown and she had applied a silver eyeshadow and silvery streaks of it under her eyes. To complete it all, Kyona had on golden glittery mascara and her full lips were a shade of...

_"Kissable silver lipstick and sweet strawberry lipglo- What am I thinking? Bad Crow! Very bad Crow!"_

"And one Orange-Cream Soda. Right Crow?" a voice asked from a distance.

"Huh?" looking around Crow saw that very face stare back at him and those same lips forming words.

"I asked if the Orange-Cream Soda was still your favorite," the hostess repeated, bringing a tall glass of the drink half-way to him.

"Oh, y-yeah it is. Thanks," he said taking it from her and sipping some from the straw that was infront of him.

It was exactly as he remembered it from those few times that he and the other kids got anything sweet back in the Satelite Sector twenty years ago.

Kyona sat down next to Crow at his right and surveyed the people at the table, anticipation in her eyes.

Jack, like last time, was the first to break the sweetened silence, "You still know your stuff, Kyona. Just one thing, how did you know this was still my favorite drink?" he asked, holding up a glass of a cool, dark liquid.

Giggling Kyona replied, "I've heard that you had taken to drinking Blue Eye Mountain Roast coffee, but after tasting it myself, I knew it just a substitute ("Expensive substitute," Crow interjected) for your _real_ favorite beverage... double-brewed Earl Gray tea, with a hint of decaf coffee grounds brewed during the second time."

Turning to Yusei she asked, "How does your BlueCherry Supreme Smoothie, taste? Did I blend it at the right consistancy, creamy yet slightly chuncky so you can taste the fruit?"

"Looks like your still three for three, Kyona," he said as Akiza took a sip from her own smoothie.

"Make that four for four. How did you know that this my favorite?" the burgandy girl asked amazed, motioning to the deep rose colored drink in from of her.

"When you came in here last time you were looking at your menu trying to decide on a drink, but you seemed to stall near the Rastrawberry Deluxe. So I decided to file that in for after you finished your meal, then I had Marisol give a sample shot of it and see if I was right."

"Well it paid off. Thanks Kyona," Akiza said as the dark girl turned to everybody else for their evaluations.

Misty enjoyed the Calming Waters with Mint Soda; Kalin brightened up with his Chocorock Malt; Leo and Luna gasped as their Touch of Magic Tea changed colors, Leo's to blue and Luna's to pink; Sherry gave a high review for her Black-n-Blue Liquorish Surprise; Elsworth grinned at his Extra-Strong Coffee with (one) Sugar, and Carly was ecstactic with her Fortune Fever Vanilla Sherbert, especially when she pulled out...

_"A chocolated-dipped pickle on a stick?"_ Crow thought with disgust as Carly started munching on it.

"I figured with what was going on you would like a little something extra," Kyona said with a knowing wink to the blushing reporter.

"Just exactly what_ is _going on?" Crow asked to nobody in particular. "Kalin brought me all the way here to tell me, and I'm guessing the rest of you, something but he hasn't said anything yet."

Getting up Jack began, "I'm not sure about what Kalin has planned, but _I_ have an announcement to make as well. As some of you probably know, this time last year, Carly and I exchanged vows in a private ceremony so we would not be bothered by a few tabloid tramps..."

"Angela," Carly coughed while Sherry, Misty and Akiza snickered, all four have had bad experiences with the over-impulsive reporter that preferred to twist the truth rather than tell it.

"We have," the blonde continued as if he did not hear anything, "been kept very busy afterwards but we have made time to settle down and think about the further future. That future is coming very soon," he said in a sweeter voice and taking his wife's hand so she could stand up.

When she did everybody noticed the small bump that was forming under her dress in the middle of her abdomine and gasped.

Smiling sincerely at his wife and friends Jack concluded, "In eight months, three weeks and five days, we're going to have a baby. We're going to be parents."

A round of clapping ensued as everybody congradulated the soon-to-be parents while Jack carefully sat Carly back in her seat, as if she would break if he did not do something.

Turning to face Kyona Crow whispered, "You knew about that didn't you?"

At that the girl rolled her eyes and replied, "Well it was a little hard to miss, Crow, especially with Jack having to buy some of the sweets just going in the door while she ate them, and he was watching over her like a hawk."

Then she dipped her finger into her RockyOrange Float and smeared the foamy ice cream across Crow's mouth, and stuck in her mouth to get rid of the remainder. A satisfied smile playing in her eyes.

_"How cu-immature. Completely immature. Cute though, maybe sexy?"_ the battle kept raging in his head as he quickly like the cream from his mouth.

When everybody had quieted down Crow and Kyona turned their attention to the one who gathered them there in the first place.

"Congradulations Mr. and Mrs. Atlas- thought that day would never come- on the start of your new family," Kalin began to much laughter. "Now the reason I've brought all here is because I have an announcement myself.

"About eight years ago I met this young woman, Misty Tredwell, under some rather...dark...circumstances. After those circumstances passed a year later I saw her again when she was a fund-raiser to help with the rebuilding of Enforcer Town. We were auctioning off some of the things that were still here before this place got turned into something useful, and she came up to see if there was something she wanted.

"I met her at the entrance," Kalin paused, looking in the model's dark green eyes, "and I became intranced. Not just by her physical beauty, but also by her inner beauty. At how she cared for Nico and West as if they were her own siblings; how she helped the town, not just by donating money, but also by actually getting in there, and helping us rebuild everything that was destroyed.

"So, last week, when she came back here to check on the progress of the town, I swallowed whatever fear I had...and asked her to marry me. Misty Tredwell and I are engaged to be wed," he concluded to the brief silence that followed.

Suddenly the room once again burst into tremendous applause while everybody got up from the table to give them their congradulations to the new couple.

"Well, now that that's been taken care of, everybody grab your drinks and head out to the restaurant," Kyona called out and everybody did as they were told and exited the room.

Crow was the last to leave but was met at the door by Kyona.

"Hey, Crow, can we talk?" she asked in a serious voice.

"Uh, sure, Kyona," the orange headed man answered.

Leaning against the same column that Kalin was at earlier Kyona stated, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" he asked puzzled. He never saw Kyona act so seriously unless it was about cooking.

"About all the stuff I did to you when we were kids," she elaborated meeting his eyes. "Putting clown posters on your wall while you were sleeping; soaking your pajamas with water and making look like you wet the bed; dropping pi-"

Crow gently covered her mouth with his free hand and said, "It's okay. No need to remind me, but it's like you said, we were kids then. We couldn't duel everyday to settle our disagreements because of how Sector Security was, and, when you think about, I wasn't much better."

When Kyona gave him a quizzical look he explained, "Yeah, I pulled some pranks on you myself. You know, dropping a pile of grasshoppers on your sheets; coating your pillows with honey; sneaking some mice in your shoes, and switching your shampoo with tie-dye mix."

After that both of the tricksters started laughing but it was Kyona that laughed the hardest, even after Crow stopped.

"W-what's so funny, K?" he finally managed to say after catching his breath.

"N-nothing," she said inbetween gasps. "Just that retrospect kind of makes things funnier. That and those weren't my things you sabotaged with your pranks."

Really puzzled Crow said, "They weren't? Then who had the sheets, pillows, shoes and shampoo?"

"They did!" Kyona laughed, pointing to the two men that stood there looking at him with furious expressions.

_"Oh crap!"_ Crow thought as he looked at the livid expressions of Jack Atlas and Yusei Fudo.

"Those _my_ sheets and shoes. I let Kyona borrow them when her own were getting sewn back together," Yusei said through gritted teeth.

"And those were _my_ pillows and shampoo. K had to borrow my shampoo because hers had run out, and her pillows were getting worn out," Jack hissed and approached his wide-eyed friend with menacing steps.

Backing up as far he could from his fuming teammate Crow made a small turn to the right... and ran like hell toward the crowded restaurant, Kyona's laughter echoing in his ears.

"I thought retrospect was supposed to make everything funnier! Besides how was I supposed to know those weren't really her things?" the scared bird duelist yelled back over his shoulder as he ran toward the nearest exit, Jack and Yusei following closely behind him as they wove their way through the rows of chairs, tables, employees, and patrons.

**A.N. In retrospect, maybe Crow should have asked or planned ahead better before acting out against his old rival. Oh, well. **

**Keep reading to find out what else is instore for "Birdie" and the femme fatale.**


	3. Chapter 3: Lunch Time Laughter

**Chapter 3: Lunch Time Laughter**

When Yusei, Jack and Crow came back into the restaurant they were escorted to the courtyard area by a young man in dark blue jeans, boots and the employee uniform shirt. That man was seventeen year old West Kessler, Kalin's adopted brother.

"So, did Kalin tell you the big news?" West asked in a strong and sturdy voice as he lead them through the throng of arriving and leaving guests.

"Yeah, we're very surprised about it but very glad, too," Yusei answered. "How are you and your sister taking the news about having a big sister?"

Smiling West replied, "It's great! I was always hoping Kalin would find somebody that makes him happy, and Nico really likes her too. They've become really good friends, almost like real sisters, and we bonded easily because of our love for dueling.

"When he first introduced us to Misty we were a little apprehensive, because she's a rich model and we thought she would look down on us the moment she arrived here. But she didn't! She actually took a hammer and some nails and helped us rebuild the town with her own hands, no complaints or anything!" he continued, and it was evident to the other guys that he was still amazed that a woman of high society and notority like Misty would willing do manual labor.

Stopping at the second floor overlooking the arena they spotted their group at a row of tables that were pushed together, and the chairs were positioned so they could watch the duel below.

When they made their way over Crow was displeased to find that the only unoccupied seat was next to the one who caused this whole mess.

Grinning like a fool Kyona looked at Jack and Yusei and said, "I'm surprised Crow is still able to walk, what with the way you two chased after him looking like you were gonna rip him to pieces. But I guess I'll just have to settle with him looking like a black-and-blue bird."

That last statement was followed by a chorus of riotus laugher from the whole table as everybody started howling and holding their sides. Everybody except Crow who glared at the hostess with his black eye while his jaw twitched in annoyance and pain.

Slamming his palms on the table he declared, "That's it! I'm gone! Kalin, good luck with your wedding!"

Before he could stand up a pair of hands rested on his shoulders to gently force him back down, and a voice pleaded, "I'm sorry, Crow, really! Please stay! Besides, you haven't eaten a decent meal yet and that's bad for someone with hypoglycemia."

Facing the owner of the voice and hands Crow saw it was Kyona, and there was such a look of genuine and sincere repentance in her eyes that he softened a little and let her push him in his seat.

"Oh, alright, but the menu had better be good or I'm outta here!" he said to her and snatched a menu for West's hand. "By the way West, why are you working here? And where's Nico?"

"Nico's at Duel Academy, finishing up her studies early, like I did, so she'll be stopping by to work here later. Miss Kyona hired us for part-time help a year ago when we came of age so we could earn some money for college," he explained with a smile at his employer and left to check on the other customers.

"Your still not getting a discount, you suck up!" Kyona yelled through cupped hands.

"Can't blame a guy for trying!" he cried back with a laugh.

Looking over the top of his menu Crow said, "You don't give discounts to your employees, K? Harsh."

Meeting his eyes over her own menu Kyona answered, "Don't need to. My employees get a free lunch and a free dinner- depending on their shift- when they _work_. If they're off duty, they pay like everybody else. I don't play favorites, Birdie, even if they're the ones holding the reception here."

"Reception?" he asked, looking at the engaged couple.

"Yes," Misty said without looking up from her menu. "Kalin and I have agreed to hold the reception party here after we get married in the chapel not far from here. Kyona and her staff will be providing the decorations, music, food and the main dining area for the ceremony."

"Considering that the only competition Martha's Place has is Randall's old gang bar on the outskirts of town, we thought this place would be much more appropriate," Kalin said with a grim smile.

After a few nods from the company they all went back to deciding what to order. The one having the most difficulty was Carly.

"Jaaaack!" Carly whined. "I'm not sure what I want. I want to have something healthy for the baby, but I also want something extra, extra sweet and tangy."

Jack only smiled and leaned closer to his wife, "Well, let's see... Do either of you want something that has protein, something with potassium, or something with a lot of vitamins?"

"Uh... protein," Carly answered.

"Then how about the Supreme Roast Beef Surprise with...an extra refill on your sweet drink?" Jack suggested.

Carly nodded her head enthusiastically and gave her husband an appreciative kiss on the cheek while he order the same thing, plus an extra large salad and a refill on his Earl Gray.

"I figured that Carly would want a second helping, so the salad is just for me," he whispered to Kyona, who nodded in understanding.

Once everybody had ordered their meals from another waitress their drinks were refilled by a nineteen year old Nico, who was wearing some mocassin boots, a jean skirt, and the employee shirt.

"How are things in school, Nico?" Kalin asked when she placed his drink in front of him.

"Pretty good, but I felt a little disappointed when I missed that last question on my Advanced Duel Physics Theory pop quiz: 'How do you mass calibrate a centrifical potent merger wire when there is an unaurthorized code in the mainframe's PDS outlink?'" she said with puzzled expression, during which time West face palmed himself while he was helping deliver their drinks.

"I don't think you should worry too much about, Nico. You only missed one question," Yusei said comfortingly.

Kyona rolled her eyes and interjected, "This coming from the same person who moped around for two weeks because he misplaced a spring in an old toaster he fixed."

Once again the table filled with laughter as Yusei turned a bright red and began sipping on his drink.

"I thought you only made fun of Crow, Madame Kyona," Sherry said after she quite laughing at her old friend.

"I do believe I said that I don't play favorites, Miss LeBlanc," the other responded coyly.

_CRASH!_

"YOU JUST DON'T PLAY FAIR PERIOD, MISS HIGH AND MIGHTY SKANKYONA!" a voice called from the courtyard.

Getting up from her seat Kyona looked down to see where the voice came from. Below was a woman in a disheavled version of the restaurant's uniform and mussy, dark brown, wavy hair. The mocassin shoes, pink skirt and low necked, dark brown shirt were covered in various stains.

"I wouldn't throw stones if I were you, Babsy Barbara," Kyona called back in a deadly manner, her eyes narrowed at her employee. "I also wouldn't call my _employer_ anything except 'Miss Kyona' or 'Madam', considering that she actually _earned_ it and is in the company of Marshall Kessler, all of Team 5Ds, their friends, and several witnesses."

"You tell her, Miss Kyona!" a male employee shouted from the silence.

"Show her what a _real_ woman can do!" a female employee shouted back with the support of all the other female staff members and customers.

"Now then," Kyona cried to a fuming Barbara, "something has to be done with the mess you made. You are going to clean up _every single scrap_ of food and dishes, _and_ you will pay for them with _this month's_ paycheck."

"Or what? You'll put me in the Women's Facility?" Barbara asked with a manical laugh. "Guess what? I'd rather go back there than work in this rat hole!"

A sinister smile on her lips the employer said, "No you wouldn't."

Everybody took a collective breath and even Barbara snapped out of her furiousity to look surprised.

"The only reason you're no longer in that facility is because of the deal you made with the D.A. If you told about every crime that both of your 'boyfriends' and Randall did, you would get off scot-free, provided that you would have a place of employment within 30 days and you stayed there. If, however your employer counted three strikes against you your deal would be nullified and you would automatically be put into the facility for the rest of your existance.

"The last time something like this happened- which was just five minutes of carrying a tray with one glass of water on it- when you got here two weeks ago," she added to the snickering of the crowd that gathered to listen, "you started raising Cain just like this, and the only way we had to settle it was with a duel. Apparantly it's come to the same thing."

Taking off her jean vest it was revealed that she had on a shoulder holster with a Duel Revolver on the left side and a deck on the right.

"Marshall, would you mind going down with me to official this?" Kyona asked over her shoulder while she climbed onto the rail.

"You got," the law enforcer nodded and left the table to make his way to the small stage where a microphone and cameras were set up.

"Wait! Kyona!" Crow cried out. "Shouldn't you think about how you're going to get down there without breaking your neck?"

"Oh! You're right," she said, then she leaned forward... and swiped his band from his hair in a flash.

She then folded it in half over one of the wires that was not filled with lanterns and jumped from the railing. She hung on tight to the make-shift zip line and soared to where her opponent was standing in the middle of the arena, a blotch of food and broken dishes next to her under a wooden tray. Then she dropped down and securly wrapped the headband around her left forearm.

Everybody else cheered for the daring feat, but Crow looked angry when he went to the railing to get a better look along with everyone else on the top floor.

_"Is she stupid or an adreniholic?" _he thought. _"How is she supposed to let that hussy take her seriously if she's pulling such stupid stunts?"_

"She could've gotten killed and everybody's cheering for her," he mumbled but he was overheard by Yusei and Jack, who were on both sides of him.

Their eyes met for a split second and that was enough to confirm what they each thought.

Crow was finally falling for Kyona, just as they had hoped.


	4. Chapter 4: And You're Out

**Chapter 4: And You're Out**

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a female employee called from the small stage of the duel arena. "Welcome to the Second Strike Duel between our recent employee, Miss Barbara," a chorus of boos followed this as the disgurntled employee set up her own Duel Revolver and deck, "and the owner of this fine establishment, Miss Kyona!"

A roar of cheers, whistles, and laughter followed after Kyona screamed out to the girl on stage, "No discount for you either, Marisol!"

Finishing her laughter Marisol continued, "For those of you who are visiting with us the Strike Duels are very simple. Miss Kyona and Miss Barbara must duel in order to settle any... _misunderstandings_ between them. If Miss Kyona wins, Barbara must clean and pay up for her damages and this will be counted as a strike against her. If she gets three strikes it will be counted as a violation of her probation.

"However, Miss Kyona were to lose against Barbara she will clear her of all strikes and she will be free to leave Martha's Place without going back to the Women's Facility."

"WHAT?" Crow cried from the railing above. "Are you serious?"

"Unfortunatly she is," West answered. "It was part of the deal that Barbara made with the D.A. But don't worry, Miss Kyona hasn't lost to that hussy and this will be just one step closer to getting rid of _Babsy_ once and for all.

"Here to officiate the duel is our very own Marshall Kalin Kessler!" Marisol declared, pointing to an approaching Kalin as he made his way to the second microphone.

"Duelists ready?" he asked, all of the televisions in the eatery tuned on to the duel.

"Ready!" both of the dark-haired females answered.

"Then proceed to the middle of the floor, Revolvers at ready, and shake hands."

The women did as they were told, but Barbara's glance at her employer was anything but friendly when their eyes and hands met.

"Now take your places at your respective ends. The first person to draw and load their disk first gets the first turn."

Positions taken and backs turned the women got ready.

"On the count of three. One!" Kalin began, holding up his index finger.

"Two!" the staff shouted, holding up two fingers.

"THREE!" everybody shouted together, holding up three fingers.

In a whirl of of dark hair the duelists turned, placed their disks on their left forearms, and drew five cards.

To determine who drew first the video was played in slow-motion on the screens.

"The first turn goes to," Kalin said, "Barbara!"

A loud cry of boos and protests came from the crowd as the Strike Duel began...

**Kyona: 4000 Life Points**

**Barbara: 4000 Life Points**

"Looks like I go first," she smirked triumphantly as she drew a card from her deck. "First, I Summon Gun-Shy Gal in Attack Mode," a blue woman with old-fashioned Western clothes and blushing cheeks appeared on the field, pistols at her sides. "Then I place one card face down and end my turn!"

Gun-Shy Gal: 1900 Atk/800 Def

"My turn then," Kyona said as she drew a card. "I Summon Cactus Blossom in Defense Mode and end my turn," a smiling Indian girl sat down on the field, sewing a beaded quilt in her hands.

Cactus Blossom: 700 Atk/2000 Def

Smiling Barbara declared, "I activate my face down: the Stop Defence Magic Card! Whenever this card is played it switches your little girl from Defence to Attack mode! Now my Gun-Shy Gal can attack your Cactus Blossom and reduce your Life Points by 1200!"

Just as the Magic Card had activated and Barbara's Monster was about to fire her pistols Kyona gave her opponent a grin, and so did her Cactus Blossom as her quilt whipped in front of her, rebounded the attack and destroyed Gun-Shy Gal in the process.

**Kyona: 4000 Life Points**

**Barbara: 2800 Life Points**

A gaping Barbara stuttered, "H-h-how is that possible? Y-y-you were the one that was supposed to have your field empty and lose 1200 Life Points!"

"It's because of my Cactus Blossom's Special Ability," Kyona said with a giggle. "Whenever she is forced from Defence to Attack Mode she swaps her Attack and Defence points, and swaps your Monster's Attack and Defence. So your Gun-Shy Gal was the one with 800 Attack points and my Cactus Blossom was the one with 2000 Attack points."

Then she pointed toward a full-grown woman who had a beaded quilt draped over her shoulders, a pink flower at her left temple, and at her side were two pistols shaped like cactus branches. The quilt had a picture of some sort of desert animal on the back.

Snarling at her employer Barbara mumbled, "I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Great! Now let's have some fun... with Bronco Buster in Attack Mode and one card face down. Your turn Babsy!"

A young male horse, dressed in cowboy duds, standing with human legs and its hands twirling a lasso appeared next to the woman. Its jean shirt had the same dessert animal on the back as well.

Bronco Buster: 900 Atk/2500 Def

"Stop calling me 'Babsy'!" a frustrated Barbara yelled as she drew a card. Then she smiled, "Don't think I don't what your strategy is, Kyona! You want me to do something that will allow you swap your pony's Attack and Defence points. Well guess what? That isn't going to happen!"

At this Kyona looked scared and shocked, "You mean you figured out my plan already, Bab- I mean Barbara? You really have been practicing since the last time we dueled."

"Don't give her any more compliments, Miss Kyona!" a customer shouted.

"You can still beat her, even she did figure out your strategy!" another shouted.

"Show that overconfident hussy who's boss, and I mean that literally!" Nico shouted from where the guests were gathered.

Laughing cruelly Barbara exclaimed, "Well I'm glad you finally realized that I've been more something more productive than slopping these pigs at your special sty. Now then, I Summon Cattle Rustler in Attack Mode, and activate the Magic Card Melnevolent Nuzzler to increase his Attack points by 800!"

A burly cowboy in black duds appeared on the field and it grew bigger, meaner looking and bulkier with the additional power boost.

Cattle Rustler: 1700 + 800= 2500 Atk/1300 Def

"Now rope in and skin that freak show pony!" Barbara declared and her Monster twirled its own lasso and was about to wrap the noose around the horse's neck when...

The noose was held tight by a woman similar to Cactus Blossom riding on the back of a very muscular Mustang.

Two cards were flipped over on Kyona's side as she elaborated, "Sorry _Babsy_, but I activated the Magic Card Stop Attack when your Rustler's lasso came near my Bronco and it switched him from Attack to Defence Mode. Then I acitvated the Trap Card Emergency Merger and combined my Cactus Blossom with Bronco Buster to create Sand Storm Rider.

"Sand Storm here has a Special Ability of her own. When she is Summoned she can take away any power boost that my opponent's Monster received during the same turn, take it away and use it for her own. Which means my Rider gets the additional 800 points your Rustler received and he's back to 1700 Attack Points."

Sand-Storm Rider: 2500 + 800= 3300 Atk/2000 Def

Cattle Rustler: 1700 Atk/1300 Def

With that Barbara's Rustler lost his extra bulk and was pulled off his feet by Kyona's Rider. When he fell onto the ground his hologram shattered into bits.

**Kyona: 4000 Life Points**

**Barbara: 1200 Life Points**

"Awww, and here was me thinking you practiced Babsy," Kyona smirked as Barbara ended her turn in a stiff manner.

Drawing a card from her deck again Kyona stated in a softened voice, "You know Barb, you do have a choice. You can surrender now and clean up your mess without this being a strike against you, or you can let this play out and try your luck at winning."

"A choice? You've got to be kidding me!" Barbara said, tears of pure hatred in her eyes. "Either way I'm at a dead end! If I lose this will be a second strike against me, with only one more to go before I'm doomed to live in that Hell hole for the rest of my life being ganged up on both of the gang's girlfriends. Even if I did win I would have nowhere else to go because my reputation is compromised because of what I helped those two basterds do to the people in this town.

"But you know something? I really don't care! My life was always like this so what difference would it make if you gave me another chance!" she cried out in manical laughter.

"If that's what you wish. I'm sorry Barbara," the other woman shook her head and continued the duel. "I activate the Magic Card Diffusion, separating Sand-Storm Rider from her merged form to bring back Cactus Blossom and Bronco Buster. Next I use Cactus Blossom to attack you directly!"

But before the Monster's attack could connect Barbara activated a card from her hand.

"You fool! I activate the Quick Play Magic Card Betraying Soul! Now I have full control of your precious Cactus Blossom!" she said with malice. "Cactus Blossom attack Bronco Buster, now!"

With a shaky hand, as though trying to resist the effect of the card, Cactus Blossom aimed her cactus branch pistol at her comrade and fired, destroying him and depleting Kyona's Life Points.

**Kyona: 2900 Life Points**

**Barbara: 1200 Life Points**

Laughing like a mad jackal Barbara gloated, "How does it feel to be out-tricked by a meaningless employee, SkanKyona?"

"I wouldn't know, because I don't think any of my employees are meaningless. Not even you, Barbara," Kyona replied, then she smiled. "As for being out-tricked, I think that question should be directed to you, because I activate from my hand the Magic Card Desert Storm!"

A card that featured a dark gray tornado in the back with many pairs of red eyes all round it showed up behind Cactus Blossom as she removed her beaded quilt and started spinning with it above her head.

Suddenly bits of gray dust came out of both sides of the field as the remaining Monster spun faster, each pillar taking the shape of Gun-Shy Gal, Cattle Rustler, and Bronco Buster, and mergered with the one in the eye of the storm.

Yelling over the wind in a clear voice Kyona announced, "When three Monsters and three Magic Cards have been destroyed this card allows me to Summon a Level 8 or higher Monster from my hand or deck. The Monster I choose to Summon is..."

The tornado shrunk down to a whirling shape until it resembled the full grown Cactus Blossom, and then the dust cleared away from the form.

The new Monster had a woman's body and was dressed in mocassins, short deer skin pants, a beaded belt that held to iron revolvers, a short-sleeved deer skin shirt, and a turquoise necklace. The only thing that made it not human was that, under all of the clothing, was a sleek, female, plains-type of wolf that was standing erect on its hind legs and had its tail was sticking out of the seat of the shorts.

"The Whirlwind Trickster!" Kyona concluded while many of the male customers tried to get a better look at the appealing Monster.

The Whirlwind Trickster: 3000 Atk/2550 Def

"Woah! Woah! Now wait a minute!" Barbara called, trying to back out of the arena. "Can't we talk this over! How about I make a public apology? Give you two month's worth of my paycheck? Huh? How's that, Madam Kyona? Deal?"

The Trickster shook her head as her human partner replied, "Sorry Barbara, but you already missed out on your chance. Trickster attack her directly with Howling Gale."

The wolf-like creature howled at the trembling woman and the force of it blew her onto her seat and into the mess that was still on the ground.

"And that is Strike Two!" Marisol announced. "Winner and still champion, Enforcer Town own Trick Star, Miss Kyona the Coyote!"

"COYOTE! COYOTE! COYOTE! COYOTE!" the crowd cheered as the Duel Revolvers were deactivated and their champion waved and smiled at all of them.

Grudgedly Barbara began cleaning up the mess as Kyona turned around and unwrapped Crow's headband from her forearm.

Barbara looked up from her work to see the smile on her employer's face and thought, "That smug little bitch!" Then she pulled out a long, sharp shard from a broken plate and threw it at her like a knife.

Before Kyona could take another step forward a scream came from Crow, who had seen the shard.

"KYONA BEHIND YOU!"

Actting quickly Kyona turned back around and used his headband like a whip to catch the shard before it made contact.

At the same time Barbara was struggling with three of the waiters, who were trying to restrain her from getting another shard or escaping out of the courtyard.

Jumping down from the second floor and landing beside Kyona, both Crow and Kyona walked toward the struggling ex-employee. Kalin had got there a few seconds ago and was trying to place a pair of handcuffs on her, but she was still trying to get free from the well-built waiters while kicking and demanding to be set free.

"LET ME GO YOU FILTHY HYPOCRIT! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME!"

"Do you even know what a hypocrit is?" Crow asked through clentched teeth while Kyona was trying to keep him from doing any unnecessary damage. "A hypocrit is somebody who apologizes for what they did wrong in the past but does nothing to make up for it, and keeps making the same mistake over and over again while playing the 'pity me please' card! You don't deserve the pity Kyona showed you or the second chance to make things right, and you _definitly_ don't deserve to be released again any time soon!"

With one final shriek and a death-glare Barbara managed to get her right arm free and struck her on the left cheek, yelling mockingly "Strike three!" as she was finally put into the handcuffs and towed away.

"You're out," Kyona mumbled as she tried to cover the spot where she was hit.

Taking her hand gently from her face Crow was infuriated to see what Barbara meant.

On the left side of her face Kyona's cheek had three deep cuts on it and they were bleeding freely.


	5. Chapter 5: Competition

**Chapter 5: Competition**

"Well, that was one way to end the lunch hour," Kyona said with a smile. "I met all of my old friends, had a duel with a disgruntled employee, and then had said employee fired and taken back the Women's Facility."

They had all returned to the meeting room, except for Kalin, Crow, Sherry and Elsworth.

Kalin had to go do the usual paperwork and officialise Barbara's return to the facility. Marisol, one of the waiters that restrained Barbara, and Sherry (along with Elsworth, of course) came as eyewitnesses to what had taken place. To be on the same side, one of the AV people in charge of the equipment had made a copy of the duel and the aftermath.

Crow personally took Kyona back to the meeting room and sat her down in one of the vacant chairs. He went to the nearest bathroom, came back with a first aid kit, and sat in front of her as he searched for something in it. Yusei and the others had taken back their respective seats and had just finished laughing to what their hostess just said a moment ago.

"You were also viciously scratched by said bitch ex-employee," he hissed through gritted teeth while taking out antibacterial suave and a cotton swab. "Not to mention almost got stabbed by a flying shard of sharp china."

"And for that I thank you for letting me use your headband as a zip-line and whip," she said with a bigger smile on her silver lips and a peach blush on her cheeks.

"Hey, no problem. Now let's get these scratches disinfected, okay?" Crow responded, brightening up a little, a small blush creeping on to his cheeks.

Everybody else exchanged knowing looks and smirks behind their backs.

Dipping the swab into the cream Crow gently took Kyona's face in his free hand and began to apply it to one of the washed scratches.

"YEOW!" Kyona screeched as she jumped out of her, knocking it over on its back and spilling the rest of Yusei's drink on his shirt. "Sorry Yus."

"No prob," he said, getting a napkin from Akiza and trying to get the cold stains off of him.

"C'mon K! I hardly touched you with the stuff!" Crow said, walking up to her, creamed swap in hand.

Looking sheepish at her sudden outcry Kyona whispered, "Sorry. I guess it still hurts more than I thought it did."

Taking her hand and leading her back their chairs Crow whispered back, "Don't worry, I'll be more gentle. If it still hurts I'll take you to the hospital so you can get it checked out."

"I doubt I'll have to go to the hospital over a few scratches. Besides I have my own Duel Runner so I don't need you to take me even if I do need to go," her golden eyes met his gray. "You've done enough for me as it was."

Smiling Crow told her, "Nice try, K, but there's no way I'm letting you go by yourself. I know you, the moment you're told to see the doctor you'll try to make a run for it."

Before she could respond Jack chimed in, "Look you two, as much as I love to hear you banter back and forth like a _couple_ of kids, don't you think you should at least clean the cuts before you're sure a doctor is necessary?"

Yusei, Akiza, the twins, Misty and Carly quickly picked up on the emphasised word and tried not to meet each other's eyes. They could barely keep their smirks from getting bigger as it is.

"I agree with the tall, blonde peacock- for once. Let's just get these cleaned first before we drag the whole ER in here," Kyona commented to a howl of laughter from the audience and a peeved look from Jack.

With that Crow went back to treating Kyona, his heart feeling a lot lighter.

A few minutes later Kalin, Sherry, Elsworth and Marisol came into the room. They were looking both pleased and tired as they sat down in the remaining chairs. Marisol, however, went next to her employer, a worried look in her eyes.

"You okay Miss Kyona?" she asked in a thick Western accent. "I can't believe that she-devil did that to you right after you were gonna give her a chance to redeam herself! It's...it's..."

"MISS KYONA!"

A gust of wind came through the door, knocked Crow back in his seat, and knelt down in front of Kyona and Marisol.

The gust of wind had dark blue hair, big brown eyes, a pair of black boots, stained jeans, and a yellow shirt with Martha's Place written and circled in black. It also presented an overstuffed teddy bear, a big box of candies, and a bouquet of lilies in front of Kyona.

_"What a sopping douchebag!"_ Crow thought annoyingly as he rightened himself and the chair from the floor.

"I'm sorry! So very, very, very, very, very, very, very sorry! It's all my fault!" the wind kept crying.

"What are sorry about Tobias?" Marisol asked in a tired voice as Kyona had her hand over her mouth.

Looking up at Kyona, not taking any notice of the other woman beside her, Tobias replied, "It's my fault that Babs got loose and gave you that scar! It tried to hold her arm tighter, but she slipped out! I'm so, so, so, so, so, so sorry Miss Kyona! I'm sorry!"

_"What a spaz! Probably sucking up so he won't get fired. How corny can you get?"_ Crow kept thinking, giving the still kneeling figure the Evil Eye.

Then he looked to see Kyona's eyes beginning to water up and a look of pure shock began to form on his face.

_"She's not actually buying that act, is she? M-maybe she's trying not to laugh too hard, o-or yell at him to buzz off and get back to work? O-or maybe she's trying not to..."_ "Achoo!" Kyona squeaked from behind her hand.

Shocked expression gone and annoyed expression returning Crow tapped Tobias on the shoulder and said, "Hate to burst your bubble, but Kyona here happens to be allergic to lilies."

Tobias looked at him angrily and snarled, "How would you know what Miss Kyona is allergic to? Last time I checked you haven't been here a couple of hours and you're probably just actting as though you know her to get a free meal. Well, guess what fuzz-head? You don't know anything about-"

"Toby," Kyona laid a hand on his shoulder, "that is no way to talk to the man who saved me earlier. If it weren't for his headband and sharp eyes, then I would be in the hospital right now having my back being made into an excavation site for china pieces."

Then she had Marisol take the flowers to another room before concluding, "And he _does_ know me, which is why I had the lilies sent somewhere else. This is Crow Hogan, one of the boys I grew up with in the Satelite Sector, and a very good friend of mine for the past 25 years of my life."

The employee looked back and forth between his boss and the guest before bowing his head to Crow and saying, "I'm sorry about that, Mr. Hogan, I guess I got a little carried away. I also want to thank you for saving Miss Kyona from the near-stabbing incident earlier. I was just very concerned that she would've gotten hurt because of my inattentiveness."

"Oh, forget about it," the other man mumbled as he came up to Kyona again to continue the treatment to the scars, not knowing that the exiting staff member had given him his Evil Eye.

* * *

><p>Two days later Kalin called them all back to Martha's Place, and told them to bring something for the night. He said what he and Misty had planned would take all night and they would be more than happy to pay for any hotel stays.<p>

_"Wonder what they've got planned this time?"_ Crow thought as he repacked his overnight case. _"We had already gone into the small detail of what role each person would play at the wedding ceremony."_

Yusei and Akiza would be Best Man and Maid-of-Honor. Jack and himself would be the Groomsmen, while Carly and Sherry were the Bridesmaids. Nico would be the Flowergirl, West would be the Ring Bearer, and then Leo and Luna would be the ushers for the guests.

Kyona, like Misty had said the first day, would be in charge of the reception details. That included the food, decorations, entertainment, and the main dining hall to put it all in.

_"Maybe they need somebody to help her plan all of this. She wouldn't ask directly, but even with her remaining staff helping her it would still be more than a handful of work. West did mention he and Nico worked there part-time, but they would have their own hands full helping with the wedding and making room for Misty in their home,"_ Crow reasoned as he headed straight to Martha's Place.

Just then a dark brown Duel Runner came up beside him, apparantly going in the same direction, and was revving up to his side. It was shaped like a coyote, with the legs curled at its sides so it looked like it was in a mid-run. It had a tail-shaped rear end, and the front was shaped like the wolf-like creature's head.

The rider had a helmet shaped just like the animal's head, its muzzle where a human mouth and nose would go, the eyes were widened so the rider had good peripharial vision, and at the top was a set of pointed ears. The riding suit was also a dark brown, and formfitting, with turquoise trimming along the collar, knee pads, shoulder pads, and elbow pads. To diguise the rider's gender a dark blue jacket was zipped up and it bellowed in the wind.

An incoming transmittion came from the other Runner and it appeared on Crow's screen.

It read:

"Since we both seem to be going in the same direction, how about a race? We'll stop at the ending rows of buildings, and when the clocks on our Runners say 10:57 we take off. The first one to reached Martha's Place before 11 wins. That sound like fun?"

To this Crow typed back:

_"Like to but I can't."_

"Why? Afraid to lose, new comer?"

_"No! Just that I have to meet friends of mine at 11. Besides I probably have more racing experience than you do, so it would be a disadvantage to an obvious rookie."_

"Then why don't we have a bet on that, Sure Shot."

Intrigued and impressed by his opponent's confidence Crow replied:

_"What do you have in mind, Rookie?"_

"Last one to make it to the restaurant has to participate in Karaoke Night at 8 PM, and must sing whatever the winner picks out. The whole thing no matter how many times he (you) is getting booed at, or how many tomatoes he (again you) has to dodge."

Going from impressed to infuriated Crow said:

_"Oh you are ON, Rookie! I hope like Carrie Underwood's 'Cowboy Cassenova'! LOL!"_

"I love it, thank you Sure Shot. I just hope YOU are ready to sing Michael Jackson's 'Rocking Robin'. LOL times infinity."

Reaching their starting point both of the riders got ready for the clock to strike 10:57.

10:54...

10:55...

10:56...

10:57... And they were off!

The road to the restaurant was not a smooth, straight line. The road twisted and turned into low shoulders, sharp rights, pot holes, deep ditches, and sharp cactus plants. To make things more difficult the terrain seemed to change from red rock hard to desert sand soft.

Crow kept looking back at his challenger to see if he had gotten stuck, but he did not, much to his surprise. The other rider was handling the terrain and his Runner like they were the same animal. Whoever it was kept easily avoiding the soft sands, pot holes and jumping over the ditches with the type of grace that would make a ghost jealous.

One minute left and a one-way path...

They were a mile away from their destination when the other Runner suddenly came up in front of him, almost blinding him with dust and a messaged popped up on the screen.

"If I were you, I'd swerve to the right and make a sharp left."

_"That guy must think I'm really...stupid?"_

Before he could act further he saw a tall cactus in front of him, and immediatly swerved to the right. But upon trying to make that sharp left his back wheel went down into a shallow ditch and he landed in a cactus cushion not far from there.

"YEOW!" Crow yelled as he sprung up and tried to get as many needles as he could out of his backside.

Getting to the Blackbird as quickly as he could, he saw that he had only thirty seconds to go and another message from the opponent.

"I tried to tell you. Better hurry!"

Jumping into the seat and trying to ignore the pain of the remaining needles Crow zoomed out of the ditch and went the rest of the way in a billow of dust, trying to regain the lead.

Finally he stopped in a spot in the parking area and looked at the time.

11:00

Laughing and whooping at what he assured himself was a great victory, Crow took his overnight case from his Runner's compartment and headed into the meeting room of the mansion. He was greeted by a seventeen year old Luna, whose eyes were dancing with mirth and whose mouth was twitching in its smiling state.

"Hey Crow. I thought you were never going to get here. What took you so long?" the female twin asked, her voice going up an octave with every other word.

Guessing what it was about Crow laughed, "I just had a race with this rookie from Town, and I accidentally backed into a cactus cushion while making a _very sharp_ left turn not far from here."

Letting the levy crack Luna burst out into laughing fits along with Crow all the way to the doors of the meeting room. On the other side of the doors more laughing could be heard echoing in the room.

"I'm guessing everybody's here," he finally managed to say, giving time for the green-haired girl to catch her breath.

"Y-yeah, except for Jack, Carly, Sherry and Elsworth," she gasped, then she explained. "Jack and Carly had an ultrasound scheduled for today to see if their baby is doing okay and if it's a boy or girl. Sherry and Elsworth had to take a flight back to France to oversee a problem at her company. Kyona's here though."

"I figured that much," Crow sighed with a quick smile that did not escape Luna's attention.

Opening the doors it was clear that everyone was trying to control their laughing. Yusei stared down a cross-word puzzle book, his lips twitching and Leo sat beside him, a big grin on his face. Akiza opened a medical book up with shaking hands, and the new couple were trying to avoid each other's eyes while skimming through a set of plans. A chair containing the silver-tipped, black haired restaurantier was turned away from Crow, so the only he could see was her head, and a halo of light seemed to radiate around her.

Breaking the controlled silence Misty got up from her chair and gave her fiance a peck on the cheek.

"I'll just let you go ahead and start the meeting without me. I've got to go check out the store and see if it's doing okay," she said as she began her walk to the door.

"You're coming back tonight at eight o'clock, right Misty?" Kyona called, turning in her seat.

Smirking at her friend and chuckling at Crow as he waved her off, she replied, "I wouldn't miss it for the world," and left.

"What is that about?" Crow asked, turning to Kyona.

Smirking she explained, "Karaoke Night. I hold it once a month and the place gets pretty packed."

Laughing Crow whooped, "Then the poor sap that lost the bet is going to be so humbled!"

"What bet Crow?" Akiza asked looking up from her shaking book.

Crow then recounted his arrival to the town, the race he just completed with the other rider, and the bet.

"Say, Champ, what did the other rider look like?" Kyona asked getting up from her seat.

"You couldn't miss him. He had on a dark brown, turquoise trimmed riding outfit, a dark blue jacket and a..ah...ah..." Crow stuttered looking at the dark haired girl.

"A helmet shaped like a coyote's head?" the mystery competitor asked, holding out the helmet in front of her. "Right... Sure Shot?"

The last Crow remembered was being grinned at by the desert wolf in the slimming outfit before everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6: Promises

**Chapter 6: Promises**

"You think he's okay, Akiza?" a voice mumbled.

"I think so. Just dazed," another voice mumbled louder. "He'll be out of it soon."

"Hmmmm" a far off voice said.

Moving his head back and forth slowly Crow's eyes fluttered open, and he saw the blurry outlines of his friends. The only person he did not see was Kyona. His head seemed to be cushioned on something soft.

_"With a strange flowery scent,"_ he thought, getting out of his groggy daze.

"Didn't I tell you?" the second voice, Akiza, asked.

"Leo, you can put up the bucket of ice water. We don't need it," the female twin sighed.

"Awww man!" the male twin pouted.

A sudden curtain of black covered Crow's eyes, but this time it was tipped with silver and flowing around him like a black and silver waterfall.

Turning to his left his gray eyes slowly went upstream, gazing at a dark brown expanse with a silver "v" stuck in the middle to two, half covered hills. Then up further to a glossy copper plain, where a turquoise choker wrapped around a long, graceful neck. Next he saw a full silver bow smiling at him, but a worried light played in orbs of gold.

The bow seemed to be forming words, and each one made it pucker and expose a small bit of pink and white.

"Crow? Are you alright? Wake up Birdie," a fifth voice called to him from the silver bow.

Blinking a few times to get the blurry egdes out Crow came a sudden realization of where he was.

_"I'm in the meeting room, surrounded by my friends... and in Kyona's lap! My head is on Kyona's lap, and I just got a close-up of her... WOAH!"_

Wide-eyed Crow spang up from his position and sat down a few inches from his "pillow", legs crossed and blushing like crazy.

"Are you sure you still don't need the water?" Leo asked in a teasing voice to his sister.

"Kalin, why did you call us here?" Crow asked in a loud voice, trying to get everybody to the main reason why they were back in Enforcer Town.

Looking stunned at his friend's sudden behavior Kalin began, "Alright then, because of what happened at Sherry's company she won't be able to be Misty's second Bridesmaid and can't be at the wedding."

"It couldn't be that bad. I mean, couldn't the problem or whatever it is be fixed by then? You guys aren't going to get hitched until next July, and that's only, what, five months away?" Crow stated, overcoming the blush and trying to push his last "view" of Kyona out of his mind.

"That's just it. The wedding has to be moved up to May, only three months away," Kalin said.

"WHAT?" everybody cried out.

Holding up his hands, as though to fend off an attack, he continued, "Sorry guys, but Misty has a photo shoot in Hawaii coming up that month and she has to get ready in June for it; Carly is her assistant and is the co-editor for Kaiba Corp's _Obilesk Ink_ magazine that's going there to do a special segment on surfboard dueling; Jack has to get back to his dueling schedule by mid-June, and Sherry's problem at the company won't be so easy to fix. Her product manager has been caught defrauding most of the company's assets and skimming the other employees of half of their yearly pay. So they're looking close to three month's worth of legalities and case files to sort through before it's finally settled."

Everybody looked thoughtful at these developments and surprises in their plans, especially the two tricksters in the room. Crow knew that Kyona was thinking over the major changes she would have to make in order to get everything ready by the big day, and she would definatly need some major help. Not to mention the fact that, with Sherry gone, she would have to help shoulder the burden of her new Bridesmaid duties. He could see the worry from before increase in her eyes, and it pained him to the core to see it.

It must have been evident in his face when he turned to Yusei, because the other male looked at him pityingly and said, "Kyona, I would help if I could but I need to get back to work on the Momentum Generator on Monday."

"And I have to get back to the New Dominio Hospital to continue my intership. So I can't help either. I'm sorry," Akiza added sadly.

"Yeah, and we've got to get back to London soon to finish up school. We won't be able to come until two weeks before the day of the wedding," Leo sighed, his sister nodding with a frown.

Taking a deep breath Kyona put on a brave smile and replied, "He look guys, don't worry about it. If I need anymore help I can just hire somebody and they can-"

"NO!"

Everybody turned to see Crow stand up in from of the sitting girl, a fire of determination on his eyes.

"Kyona, I know we haven't seen each other in about fifteen years, but I can still read you like a book. Even if you could hire somebody to help you it'll still be too much for you to handle," he said, holding up a hand before she could interrupt. "So, since I seem to be the only one who is free at the moment, _I_ can help you with the reception party, or whatever else you need."

"HUH?" the others gasped as Kyona stared at him wide-eyed.

Soon the golden eyes weld up with tears as the girl jumped up from her position and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering "thank yous" repeatedly into his ear.

Then she asked aloud, "You mean it? No teasies?"

Pulling her away from him gently, hands at her waist, Crow laughed back, "Yeah, I mean it. No teasies."

"Well in that case... Lunch and dinner's on the house!" the happy chef told the room at large.

With that everybody got up and headed to the main dining area, Leo trying to be the first one there.

However, before Crow could take another step, Kyona grabbed his arm and whispered, "Just because you're helping me doesn't mean I'm gonna let you skip out on our little bet."

"Oh, c'mon, K! I'm a wild bird, not a song bird!" he said, looking at her in fear and annoyance.

Laughing Kyona walked with him to the table and said, "Well tonight you're going to be a _Rockin' Robin_. Tweet tweet."

As they sat down to order their free meal Crow could not help but feel a slight longing for Kyona's warm touch.


	7. Chapter 7: Settling In Crow's Song

**Chapter 7: Settling In (Crow's Song)**

After lunch Crow went back home to pack three month's worth of clothes, wash towels, and other necessities, he attached a flat-bed trailer to his Blackbird, and headed back to Martha's Place.

When he got there Marisol was at the entrance. She motioned for him to come to the eastern side of the property, the housing part of the estate, and to park inside the emence garage. There were other small vehicles there in personalized slots at one side of the garage marked "For Employees Only", while the other side was nearly empty and was marked "For Guests".

He parked into one closest to a covered vehicle, and, judging by its shape, it looked like a Duel Runner was under it. The sign in front of it read "For Owner/Manager".

"Your name will be posted on the sign in from of your Runner," Marisol explained as Crow unpacked his things. "When you touch the name plate your handprint will activate the safety mechanism. Just tap it twice with your bare hand to set the alarm. If you try to deactivate it, and the vehicle isn't yours or if you have a glove on...well, you'll learn soon enough."

Saying that last part with a smile she called over her shoulder for someone to help him with his bags and to show him his room. Unfortunatly, the one who came was Tobias, and he was not exactly happy to see Crow either.

"Hello again _Mr. Hogan_," he said with a bitter smile. "Glad to know you're here to help Miss Kyona."

"Anything to help somebody I _know_, and I'm glad to see you again, too, _Toby_," Crow responded back with the same smile.

Sensing the tension in the air Marisol barked to the waiter, "Well don't just stand there, Tobias, help him with his bags!"

"Y-yes Miss K- I mean Miss Marisol!" he stuttered, grabbed to suitcases in each hand and hurried his way inside.

Not two steps away a loud crash resounded in the hallway.

"TOBIAS! Was that another vase?" the head waitress called.

"Maybe," the man squeaked.

Marisol face-palmed herself and motioned for Crow to follow her inside, a vein throbbing in the brunette's temple.

On closer inspection Crow saw that Marisol had straight, brown hair that was cut to her chin and held back by two strange-looking flower hairclips. She was wearing a red shirt that boasted her workplace's name in green, capri jeans, a Duel Revolver and deck holster-belt, and a pair of beige ankle-high boots with star-shaped spurs on them. He also noticed that the back of the shirt had a line drawing of a coyote's head in black.

_"It must be on the backs of all of the shirts,"_ Crow surmised as he was lead up two flights of stairs, Marisol's spurs clicking with each step.

When they came to the third door on the landing it was open and a sound like things being tossed onto something came from the distance. A few grunts and mumbles were followed before each item hit whatever it was. It seemed to becoming from another part of the suite, so they went in further until they saw another open door, leading to the bedroom.

Stopping in front of the room first Marisol screamed, "WHAT THE H-E-Double Sheshkabob Sticks ARE YOU DOING?"

Looking above Marisol's head Crow's jaw dropped. There was one of his suitcases on the bed, its contents scattered all over the floor in messy wads, and there was the culprit holding a pair of his boxers. What was even more embarassing was that it was the ones with cheetah spots on them, _pink_ cheetah spots, on a mauve background.

"Like the lady said," Crow snarled, embarrassed and angrily looking at Tobias. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"I believe Miss Marisol said 'What the h-e-double sheshkabob sti-" the other guy began, snarling back at Crow.

Stepping up toward him the hostess grabbed his arm and twisted it in a half-Nelson, "As I was saying, what are you doing to our guest's private property? When Miss Kyona finds out..."

Dropping the boxers and slipping out of her grasp the guilty party begged on his knees, "Please do not tell Miss Kyona, Miss Marisol! Please! I was only trying to protect her!"

"Protect her?" they both asked.

"Yes! After the incident with Barbara I didn't want to take any chances that somebody else may try to harm Miss Kyona. I couldn't bear to lose her after all she has done to help us here in town, so I made a promise to myself that I would inspect the contents of any case new guests and employees carried. I will not let my unattentiveness be the reason why Miss Kyona gets hurt, or worse," he concluded looking at Crow with suspecious eyes.

_"That has got to be... the second biggest bit of horse shit I have ever heard!"_ Crow thought.

Then he said to Tobias, "Look pal, I would never do anything to hurt Kyona, and even if I did, believe me, she would find some way to hurt me back ten times worse. She may look like an innocent flower that can't take care of herself, but trust me she isn't. She's the type of woman that is strong, cunning, independant, funny, and damnably reliable. The only thing she has ever failed at is asking for help when she needs it. Which is why _I_ am here."

Hearing the passion in his voice and seeing the same fire in his eyes Marisol smiled. She could tell that this was definatly the man she kept hearing about. Then she grabbed Tobias by his ear and yanked him off his knees.

"I'm sorry about the mess Mr. Hogan," she said above the constant protestings of her victim, "but I'll make sure Tobias will be displined becasuse of his actions. Have a pleasant stay, and if you need anything just dial MP411 for the information desk, MM2 for myself, or MK1 for Miss Kyona. Bye!"

With that she dragged the offender out of the room and down the flights of steps. As the sounds drew further away Crow was happy to hear the constant thumping of Tobias being drug down each set of stairs, and the constant "ows" and "ouches" that came with it as his rump hit eack step.

Closing the main door with a silent chuckle Crow decided to take in his new surroundings.

The parlor was very spacious with two leather chairs and a matching sofa, two empty waist-high bookshelves that held vases of diverse flowers, a small chandelier, and a pair of windowed doors that overlooked a massive field filled with fruits and vegetables. The bathroom was big, too, with a sliding-glass door shower, a toilet, a sink with a cabinet supporting it, a full length mirror, and a jacuzzi tub sunk into the floor.

Lastly Crow inspected the bedroom. Except for his personal belongings in untidy piles all over the floor and bed, it did not look too bad. There was a recliner in one corner near a fireplace with a tall lamp behind it, another bookshelf filled with magezines and hard-cover books at the wall by the door, and a door that lead to a walk-in closet.

The bed was king-sized and dressed in dark brown sheets, a turquoise comforter, and white pillows. Beside it on the left was a bed-side table with a pitcher of water set in a bucket of ice, a glass in front of it on a coaster, and on the right, on a smaller table was a visu-phone with a list of all of the employees and their numbers.

The directory went:

Martha's Place Information: MP411

Miss Kyona, Owner/Manager/Head Chef: MK1

Miss Marisol, Assistant Manager/Seu Chef/Head Waitress: MM2

So on and so forth, each employee's name and status in the business chain. Then Crow got to the last three names:

Miss Nico Kessler, Part-Time Waitress/DA Graduate/Cook Trainee: MNK22

Mr. West Kessler, Part-Time Waiter/DA Junior/Lacross Captain: MWK23

Mr. Tobias, Waiter Trainee: MT24

_"No wonder he's been acting like a spaz. __He's__ the rookie!"_

With a laugh Crow began getting his things moved into the appropriate places, and then settled down into the recliner to relax. He grabbed a book from the bookshelf and read the title _Duelists of the WRGP and Beyond: 2035 Edition_. He saw that one part in it had a bookmark in it, and decided to read it from there.

When he turned to that page he sat up right in the chair. The place that was marked was an article about The Enforcers reuniting to save old Crash Town against Lawton and his duel gang. Reading further Crow saw that a thin pencil line underlined his name and the name of the card he used as his "calling card" (Gale the Whirlwind). Then he noticed the bookmark.

It was a note, folded up neatly around something that left a thin, round wrinkle, and addressed to him in cursive handwriting. He opened the note and a thin necklace, with a black bird's head on one side and a coyote's head, on the other fell on this lap.

The note read:

_**"Dear Crow,**_

_**This is a thank you gift from all of us here at Enforcer Town. We here at Martha's Place hope that you like it, along with your room, and that you enjoy staying here while helping me with the reception.**_

_**As promised, dinner is on the house tonight, and while we're eating I'll explain a few things so you can be prepared for whatever is thrown at you. The dinner rush starts at 6PM, so you better get ready to fight a wave of hungry customers. (LOL x Infinity)**_

_**Enjoy your rest and make sure to be down by said time.**_

_**Sincerely yours,**_

_**Kyona**_

_**P.S. You're still singing tonight, so I'd warm up your vocal chords if I were you, 'Cowboy Cassenova'! -K"**_

_"So much for relaxing,"_ Crow thought dismally.

Then he decided to put on the necklace, bird's head showing of course, and started looking through a list of songs and their lyrics on the very bookshelf where he got his present.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. Sorry if I mislead anybody with the title of this chapter, but I decided it would be funny to make a pun on Billy Joel's song "Moving Out (Brian's Song)". Hope you all like it and be prepared to laugh yourselves to death in Chapter 8! LOL x Inifinity (Where's the button for that symbol anyway?)<strong>


	8. Chapter 8: Rockin' Cassenova

**Chapter 8: Rockin' Cassenova**

When the clock struck 5:45 PM on his cellphone Crow decided it was time to head down to dinner. He had spent the first half hour since he got there rehearsing the lyrics to his song, and the last hour and fifteen minutes trying to come up with a way to get out of it. But it was hard to concentrate on a good excuse when someone downstairs kept screeching and wailing an old 1960s song.

_"Whoever it is he's butchering a great classic,"_ Crow thought, gritting his teeth and trying to reread the lyrics to keep himself calm.

Thinking that it would be better to go down and begin ordering his meal the fiery red head went down the two flights of stairs. When he got to the first landing, where a sign on the wall stated "Male Employees Quarters", the hair on the back of Crow's neck stood straight up and he clasped his hands tightly, picking up the pace in his steps until he came to the thankful quiet of the main hallway.

This hallway connected to the dining area, while the one further from it on the right, connected the staffs' quarters to the kitchens and locker areas. This hallway was separated from the other hallway by a marble white wall with a mahogeny door, which was left ajar, and Crow could see most of the employees make their way to the lockers or kitchen area. Some were lugging around bulky cases and taking them to a door that was marked "Band Entrance".

Shrugging Crow went further into the hacienda until he reached a door marked "Main Dining Hall", and opened it.

He saw that Kyona was not kidding when she mentioned there were going to be hungry customers, and was glad he decided to come early. About half of the tables and booths were already filled as a few waitresses and waiters came in to give the guests glasses of complementary water. The bandmembers- three men and three women- had already arrived on the stage, and began setting up their equipment at the right of the side entrance where he came in.

Hearing a high-pitched whistle that he recognised Crow looked straight ahead to find Kalin, Misty, the twins, Akiza, and Yusei already seated at a wide booth, the latter waving his arm to get his attention. Using the empty space between the stage and a row of half-tables Crow made his way to his friends, and sat down next to Yusei, who greeted him with a pat on his back.

"You've been doing okay, Crow?" the spiky haired scientist asked with a friendly smile.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Crow replied. "Had another run-in with that spaz Tobi-ASS again when I got here."

Giggling Akiza asked, "What happened this time? Did he knock you on your back again?"

"No, it was worse," Crow gritted and then he told about what happened when he had arrived almost two hours ago.

"When we caught him that idiot had a pair of my boxers wadded up in his hand and he looked like he was going to add that to the rest of the mess on the floor," he told them, an angry and humiliating blush reappearing on his cheeks as the girls giggled about what he just said.

Making his voice low Yusei whispered to his friend, "Were the boxers, by any chance, those mauve ones with the pink cheetah spots that a rabid fangirl mailed you as a Christmas present last year?"

"Unfortunatly," he mumbled back, wondering why on earth he packed them in the first place.

Getting over her giggling fit first Misty asked, "So what happened after he got caught?"

"He started reciting a bunch of horse hockey about wanting to protect Kyona better after what happened with Barbara, and that he decided to play Hotel Security for any new guests and employees," Crow fumed.

While he grabbed the menu from the space in front of him and began reading the dinner section, Crow's friends exchanged worried looks. Apparantly there was somebody else vieing for the female trickster's attention.

"So," Crow began trying to break the silence, "where are Jack and Carly? I thought they would be here after the ultrasound."

"They were going to be hear, but Jack had to be kept in the hospital overnight while Carly was busy getting the baby room set up," the medical student said with a smile.

"Jack had to stay overnight? Why?" the bird duelist asked worried. He knew his old friend had to stay at the hospital before because of Turbo Duel related injuries.

"It's nothing serious," the intern continued with a laugh. "He's just staying there due to shock at the big news. The reason Carly has been developing her cravings faster than a normal pregnant woman is because she's having twin girls."

For the second time that day, Crow's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Twin girls?" he exclaimed. "No wonder Jack went into shock!"

The other two former Enforcers started laughing along with everybody else. When they were in Satelite Jack always told them that, after he got married, he wanted to have a least two boys, but the others had joked around with him saying that if he were not careful he would wind up having one girl instead. So the fact their old friend was going to have two girls was just hilarious.

"I'm guessing that trying to name them 'Richard' and 'John' is out of the question, huh?" Crow gasped, finally in control of his laughter.

"Afraid so," Misty snickered. "Of course Carly is happy about it. She called me at the dress shop earlier to tell me the good news, and said that, since they're both girls, she was going to name one of them 'Rariety' and let Jack name the other. As soon as he wakes up of course."

"Betcha' 50 bucks that he'll name the other one 'Jacklyn', or some other female variation of his name," Kalin interjected as Marisol came to take their orders.

"What can I getcha' to drink?" She asked, taking out a notepad and pen from her apron.

"I'll take an iced raspberry tea, please," Akiza said.

"I'll have a diet cola," Yusei stated.

"One Mountain Spring Special-Tea," Misty ordered.

"I'll have the same as the future misses," Kalin grinned, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"One Blue-"

"And One Pink-"

"Touch-of-Magic Tea" the twins said in turns.

"And I'll take the Orange-Cream Soda," Crow finished. Then he asked, "By the way, where is Kyona? I thought she was going to be eating with us?"

Smiling bigger the assistant replied, "Oh, she'll be here. She's just cooking your dinner personally."

Confused Crow blabbed, "But we didn't order anything!"

"Oh, Miss Kyona has something special planned for you guys. I think she's either making a Delux No. 8 or No. 10, but you didn't hear it from me," she winked and then left, taking the menus with her.

"Then she _is_ making something good," the marshal grinned. Then he looked at Crow and commented, "Maybe you should help her out more often, Crow, if she's going to be cooking a No. 8 or No. 10 personally."

"What on earth is a No. 8 or a No. 10?" the red head asked, getting annoyed at being left out of the loop again.

"You'll see!" everybody chorused while Crow face-palmed himself.

_"That's the second time this week I've been told that. Why am I the only one who is missing something here?"_ he thought in confusion.

Just when he was about to shout out his feelings a tantalizing scent travelled to their table, and he inhaled deeply. It smelled of steak, shrimp, lobster, brown gravy, carrots, onions, celery, broccoli, red and green peppers, and freshly baked bread, making his mouth water and his stomach growl.

Looking behind him, in the direction of the scent, Crow's eyes widened at the sight that greeted him and it made his mouth water even more.

Kyona was coming toward them, her hips were swaying gently in small circles. The sides of her silver-tipped hair were pulled back and held on to the back, which was in a thick braid, tied with red ribbons. She was wearing a short navy-blue skort, a pearl-pink halter top, and her brown, knee-high spurred boots. She was also wearing a turquoise necklace like his, except hers had the coyote head showing, and her silver lips were parted in a smile, showing off her gleaming white teeth.

In her hands, which had teal-blue elbow-length ovenmits on them, she had a large, round covered platter with some slits at the top, where the smell was eminating from.

_"Adorable wife approaching... Wait, where'd THAT come from? Bad Crow! Very bad Crow!"_ he reprimended himself, turning around and looking resolutly at the table.

In a low whisper Kalin asked Misty, "Did Yusei, Jack and I have that same look in our eyes?"

"Yusei's was almost easy to figure out the first time I saw him, Jack was determined to hide his emotions, and you were nearly difficult to interpret," Misty whispered back. "Crow, however, you can tell right off the proverbial bat."

Nodding Kalin then asked, "But what about Kyona?"

Misty raised one eyebrow in an expression that said "What do you think?"

"Dinner is served!" their hostess proclaimed, lifting up the cover with a flourish as steam came out from under it.

A collective gasp came from the group as they saw what the platter held. On it were eight plates, eight sets of silverware, and eight tall glasses of milk. The plates held wide, shallow bowls with blue, pinstripe waves decorated along the edges, and inside the bowls were thick, round loaves of bread that were the same height as a short stack of pancakes.

Setting each set in front of everybody Kyona sat down, took the knife from her set, and cut a round hole around the top of the bread. Putting the knife down she got her fork, put the tongs of it in the incesion, and, using her index finger, she lifted up the self-made lid. Another bit of steam slowly went out after the top was lifted.

Inside of the bread loaf was a delicious-looking soup that had chucks of steak, shrimp, lobster and all of the other ingrediants that Crow smelt earlier. The soup itself seemed to be a mixture of brown gravy, tomato soup, chili mix.

"Well don't just stand there looking hungry, everybody did in!" Kyona said, dipping her spoon into the concoction and putting a small sample of it in her mouth as everbody else followed her example.

Crow was about to shove a particularly large spoonful in his mouth when everyone shouted, "DON'T DO THAT!"

"Why?" he asked, getting increasingly fed up with everyone else knowing something he did not.

"Trust me Crow, Kyona's Western-style Gumbo is NOT to be taken lightly," Kalin said, taking an extra small spoonful of the gumbo into his mouth. "I took a big spoonful like that the first time I ordered it and my tongue felt like you did when you landed in that cactus cushion."

"You told him that?" Crow shrieked at Kyona over the laughter of the others.

"I most certainly did not," Kyona responded between spoonfuls. "One of the staff members did when he came into the meeting room to see if anybody wanted anything to snack on, and they wanted to know what took us so long. But don't worry, I ordered him not to tell anybody else, so it's just between all of us here."

Looking relieved Crow said, "Thanks Kyona," and took a smaller bite of his gumbo. He was glad he took Kalin's advice on it.

The meat, all of it, was tender and packed with flavor. The soup was thick and creamy, with bits of pepper spice in each bite, and the vegetables were cruchy. Everything was delicious...and down right hot!

Taking a quick swig of his milk, Crow looked back at Kyona, who was looking at him in anticipation. It was the same look he saw the first time he came here, and he could also see that she was waiting to hear what he thought about her cooking, like it was _his_ opinion that mattered to her. His and no one else's.

"K, this has got to be... the best gumbo I have ever tasted!" Crow exclaimed, giving her an appraising smile while her eyes danced with joy.

* * *

><p>The time had come.<p>

At 7:45 the dinner rush was thinning out, and the staff was busy cleaning up tables. The tables in front of the stage were being put into two rows so that there was a walking space between the front row and the stage, and a space between the two rows.

A row of five microphones was placed in the middle of the stage while the band had moved behind a clear sheet of film that had been lowered from the ceiling like a curtain, and a clear flatscreen was attached to the microphone stand, so the singer could read the lyrics while the audience could still see him, or her.

"Fifteen minutes til Karaoke Hour!" one of the male band members called into his mike.

"Thanks Alanzo!" Kyona called.

She had seated the others in one of the tables in the second row, and was giving them tall paper cups with plastic lids and bendy straws.

"What's with the to-go cups, Kyona? And don't say 'you'll see' because that's all I've been hearing since I got here," Crow said, pointing his finger at her for emphasis.

Laughing Kyona answered, "The reason I'm giving you these cups is because the sound from the amps can get pretty loud and it has the tendency to make glassware shake off the edge of tables, or topple over. That, and some people can sing at surprisingly high-pitched voices."

Nodding in understanding Crow poured the rest of his drink into the cup and labeled his name on it with one of the ink pens that was on the table already. The others followed suit, and soon the area in front of the stage filled up with people.

It was now eight o'clock and the room dimmed, but was soon lit up again with decorative lanterns. The flood lights on the stage were turned on and the band started playing a warm-up instrumental number while some of their members practiced their vocals on their mikes.

Everyone present became silent as the lights above the stage turned off again. When they came on a few seconds later Marisol was standing with one of the microphones in her hand, and waving at the cheering audience.

"Welcome to Karaoke Night here at Martha's Place!" she called out. "To start off the festivities, allow me to introduce you to the house band.

"There's Dingo on the drums!" A guy with short, spiked hair clapped his drumsticks together and banged on the drum set, finishing off with the cymbols.

"Alanzo on the guitar!" the guy who called out earlier played a few power chords before fading off into a gentle tinkling.

"Tamara on trumpet and vocals!" a young woman played a jazz melody and finished with an R&B croon.

"Rory on saxaphone!" another girl played a smooth sound from the brass instrument.

"Cassidy on vocals!" the final girl crooned into the mike to several wolf-whistles.

"Last, but definatly not least, Derek on piano!" the last member gave Marisol a graceful smile and played a few keys to many swooning girls.

"Unlike most karaoke places, we don't use a machine to play the music for our songs, we use the gifts of these great people behind me. Ladies and gentlemen (if any) give a warm round of applause to Martha's Places own band, The Pack!" she concluded to a hearty applause as The Pack members took a bow.

Fluttering her hands above her head to regain the rooms attention Marisol said, "To start off Karaoke Night, let's give an encouraging applause to our first performer. Ladies and gentlemen (still not seeing any) let's hear it for Miss Celine as she sings Tata Young's 'Betcha Neva'."

And so Karaoke Night started. After Celine finished her song another participant came on stage, although his arrival was less warmly recepted as the first one's was when Marisol announced him.

"Everybody," she said waryingly, "please give it up for... Mr. Tobias, as he sings a classic from the band Tony, Orlando and Dawn 'Knock Three Times'."

Crow sputtered his drink back through his straw when he heard the name, and, for the third time that day, his jaw dropped when he saw the spaz come onto the stage, a big smile on his face as he was greeted by the scattered clapping.

Motioning the band to start playing Tobias took the microphone, and Crow would have done anything to shove the stand up his...

"I CAN HEAR THE MUSIC PLAYING! I CAN FEEL YOUR BODY SWAYING! ONE FLOOR BELOW ME, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME! OH HOW I LOOOOOVE YOU!" he screeched in a high-pitched voice when he got to the chorus. "OH MY DARLING! KNOCK THREE TIMES ON THE CEILING IF YOU WANT ME-"

"To shut up!" a guy from the third row shouted, his hands clasped over his ears and halfway under the table.

Soon a louder chorus of boos and yells resounded through the room, even as Tobias tried his hardest to sing into the mike again. This was proven to be difficult because many people had taken the ignitiative and started throwing rottened tomatoes at him. Even the band had stopped playing so they could cover their own ears.

By the time Marisol had got up there to dismiss him the poor guy was covered head to toe in tomato guts. He resembled a walking bottle of ketchup as he stomped off the stage.

"Thank you Mr. Tobias for that _unique_ rendetiton," she said through gritted teeth. "Now, let's calm ourselves down with our next performance. Everyone, please welcome to the stage Miss Nico Kessler as she sings Jordan Pruitt's 'My Shoes'."

"I didn't know Nico could sing," Crow said to Kalin.

"She can, she's just shy about it, but Kyona encourages her to participate on these nights to help build her confidence," Kalin answered in time to hear his little sister sing.

Nico started off in a shy manner, but as the song progressed she started smiling and tapping her foot along with the drum beat. Her own song seemed to have calmed everybody down from the last fiasco, and everyone gave her a warm round of clapping as she left the stage.

"Now then our next performer is-" Marisol began.

"Hold it Mari!" a voice came from one side of the stage.

It was Kyona.

She took the microphone next to her assistant manager and said into it, "You're not getting out of this one! You were supposed to start us off tonight!"

"Sorry Miss Kyona," the other girl said, though it was clear from her tone she was not. "I guess it slipped my mind."

"How convienant," her boss replied with a smile, "but you're still doing it." She then turned toward the snickering audience, "Ladies and gentlemen (and I am pretty sure there is some here tonight) let's give a warm round of encouragment for Miss Marisol as she sings Mikalia's 'Emotional'!"

"I'm gonna get you for this Miss Kyona," Marisol hissed away from the microphone, before she began her song.

She was not too bad either, and her thick, Western accent made it easier to hit most of the punctuations in the song.

When she had finished it was clear to Crow that she had many admirers. About half of the room gave her a standing ovation, while most of the guys wolf-whistled. Derek, the pianist, gave her a wink and another smile, which made her blush and smile as well.

"Now that that is over," she said in a somewhat hoarse voice. "Let's welcome our next singer. He's a vistior from New Domino City, he's widely known for his dueling skills, and his quick wit, but something tells me he may also be known as a great singing talent. Or a total flop which ever comes first."

Smiling wickedly at their table Marisol proclaimed, "Let's put our hands together for the Trick Star of the East, Mr. Crow Hogan!"

The spotlight was literally put on him as the blushing duelist tried to sneak his way out the closest door, and was forced to make a quick right toward the stage.

When he got to the microphone Crow stated, "For the record, I really don't want to do this."

"Then why are you?" somebody called from the back.

"I made a bet with Kyona and-"

The whole room burst into laughter at that statement. From the hallway that connected the staff room to the stage Tobias shouted, "You really are stupid, aren't you? Nobody makes a bet with the Trick Star of the West and actually _wins_!"

Gritting his teeth the fiery duelist continued, "Even though I don't want to be here, I'm a man of my word, so I'm gonna sing and won't get off this stage until I'm finished. If you don't like it, tough, that's part of the deal I made so go ahead and throw your rotten tomatoes. Start the music."

So the music started and so did Crow, though through gritted teeth:

**"He rocks in the tree tops all day long,**

**Hopping and a-bopping and a-singing his song.**

**All the little birdies on jay-bird street,**

**Love to hear the robin go 'tweet, tweet, tweet'.**

**Rockin Robin**

**Rock, Rock, Rockin Robin**

**Go Rockin Robin,**

**'Cause we're really gonna rock tonight."**

_"No tomatoes yet. Might as well laugh it up a little,"_

Ungritting his teeth he continued, this time smiling:

**"Every little swallow, every chickadee**

**Every little bird in the tall oak tree.**

**The wise old owl, the red-faced crow**

**Flapping theirs wings saying 'go Robin go!'**

**Rockin Robin**

**Rock, Rock, Rockin Robin**

**Go Rockin Robin,**

**'Cause we're really gonna rock tonight.**

**Yeah yeah!"**

To his surprise he was actually starting to have fun, and so was everyone else as they filled the hall with the "tweedily diddlily dee" parts. He got an even bigger surprise when another person joined him on stage for the next verse, but sang it on her own.

Kyona:

"A pretty little raven at the bird man stand,

Taught him how to do the bop and it was grand!

He started going steady and 'bless my soul',

He out bopped the buzzard and the oriole!

He rocks in the tree tops all day long,

Hopping and a-bopping and a-singing his song.

All the little birdies on jay-bird street,

Love to hear the robin go 'tweet, tweet, tweet'.

Rockin Robin

Rock, Rock, Rockin Robin

Go Rockin Robin,

'Cause we're really gonna rock tonight."

During the instrumental break Kyona whispered, "Care to finish it off in a duet?"

"Loved to," he smiled at his partner as he spun her around.

**"A pretty little raven at the bird man stand,**

**Taught him how to do the bop and it was grand!**

**He started going steady and 'bless my soul',**

**He out bopped the buzzard and the oriole!**

**He rocks in the tree tops all day long,**

**Hopping and a-bopping and a-singing his song.**

**All the little birdies on jay-bird street,**

**Love to hear the robin go 'tweet, tweet, tweet'.**

**Rockin Robin**

**Rock, Rock, Rockin Robin**

**Go Rockin Robin,**

**'Cause we're really gonna rock tonight.**

**Tweedily deedily-dee, Tweedily deedily-dee**

**Tweedily deedily-dee, Tweedily deedily-dee**

**Tweet, tweet, tweet, tweet!"**

When they had finished they were greeted by a roar of applause from the audience, staff members, the band... practically everyone. Everyone, that is, except Tobias, who left when he saw Kyona being spun around by Crow.

The pair took a bow, still holding hands, and exited the stage back to Crow's awaiting and clapping friends.

"That was wonderful!" Leo exclaimed, coming around the table to give the older duelist a thump on the back. "Crow, why didn't you tell us you could sing?"

"Well you know how we big-shot duelists are, Leo. We like to keep things simple," he laughed along with the others as they sat down to enjoy the rest of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. I hope you all enjoyed Karaoke Night at Martha's Place! <strong>

**Coming up: More romantic comedrama (comedy and drama) unfolds as Crow gets first-hand experience with the restaurant business, and how he is going to deal with Tobias. **

**Stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Trainee

**Chapter 9: The Trainee**

A beautiful woman with long, ebony and silver hair knocked on his bedroom door, and asked for permission to come in. The occupant gave his permission, pulling up the covers around his waist as he sat up in bed, and the door opened as if by magic. The woman came to his bed, laden with a tray that held his favorite breakfast- a large omelet, a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal, a tall glass of milk, a small glass of orange juice, and a fluffy blueberry muffin.

The woman was dressed in a teal sundress, a pair of white wedged-sandals, and a pearl-pink apron with ruffles around the body, outlining her hourglass figure. Her hair was tied into a sleek ponytail with a red ribbon on top, and her silver lips held a smile as she presented the tray. She was swaying toward him and had laid the breakfast tray across his lap.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked in a silky voice as she stood straight up again.

"Yes, I did. Thanks," the man said with a smile on his lips while his eyes danced mischievously.

Blushing a little the woman looked like she was about to turn and leave, but the man seemed to have other plans.

He laid the tray on the large nightstand, grabbed her hand and gently pulled her down, so that she was sitting next to him. He then wrapped his other arm around her waist, and pulled her closer to his side. He could smell the sweet scent of her lipgloss.

Tracing a hand down the woman's cheek, and pushing a stray hair behind her ear, the man said, "Stay here for a little while, and we can share the breakfast afterward."

Blushing a deeper shade of peach the woman protested, "I'd love to, but I need to get back to the kitchens."

She was about to pull herself away until the man turned her face towards his, and he saw the mischief in his grey eyes reflecting in her gold ones.

"I'm sure they can survive a few minutes without you," he cooed, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

The woman returned the smile and purred back, "Maybe for a while."

Their faces moved closer, their lips puckered, and the man was just a few centimeters away from knowing what silver and strawberries together tasted like...

BRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGG! BRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGG!

Eyes popped open from the sound Crow turned to the hotel phone, which was still ringing. The clock on his cellphone showed that it was six in the morning.

Irritably he took the phone from its cradle and mumbled out a hello before pulling it away from his ear as a sound like a trumpet eruptted from the other end.

_"I don't remember signing up for boot camp!"_ he thought as he slammed the phone back on the cradle and tried to get back to sleep.

No such luck though because the main door to the suite was being hammered at, and a voice on the other side was telling him to hurry and come to the door.

Groggily Crow did as he was told. He left his comfortable bed, wrapped a robe around his night attire- orange shirt and black shorts- and opened the door.

He regretted it instantly when two men barrelled their way in, went through his drawers and closet. They grabbed a shirt, a pair of pants, socks, his boots, and a pair of his boxers. The mauve ones, naturally.

_"Next chance I get I'm burning them,"_ he thought embarrassingly as the one man holding them let out a chuckle to his friend, who had the decency to look away quickly.

"Alright Dingo! Let's get this over with," the other guy said to his punk-looking friend.

"Right on ya' mate!" Dingo replied in a thick Austrailian accent. Then he turned to the room's main occupant, "Let's get going there R.R. The head shelia's waiting for you!"

Then he and his friend, who Crow recognized as Alanzo, grabbed him by his upper arms under his robe, and hauled him out the door. They completly lifted him up from the floor, out of the robe, and down the flights of stairs.

On the way down and toward the staff room Crow kept kicking and screaming, demanding to know why he was being dragged out of his room at six in the morning by two of The Pack's bandmembers.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE KNOWN DIMENSIONS IS GOING ON HERE! AND DON'T ANY OF YOU GUYS EVEN THINK ABOUT SAYING 'YOU'LL SEE'! I LIKE TO KNOW RIGHT...now?"

At the head of the staff table was Kyona, wearing a big smile on her silver lips and... _a teal sundress and white wedged-sandals, with her hair tied into a sleek ponytail and a red ribbon on top_.

Giggling along with Marisol and the other female employees, Kyona said, "Good morning Crow. Did you sleep well?"

Only being able to nod his head Crow gapped at her amazed. She looked exactly how he had seen her in his dream, and she almost said exactly what her dream-self said. To complete his sense of deja vu Crow saw that there was a large tray in the middle of the table, but this one was covered.

_"If it has what I think it does underneath then I have officially entered the Twilight Zone," _he ventured as he sat down on her right at the staff table, Dingo and Alanzo sitting next to him.

"Thanks for bring our fellow member down guys," Kyona said with a smile.

"It was no problema Senora Kyona," Alanzo waved, his speech coming out in silky Spanish. "We're just sorry we had to bring him here like this."

"New member?" Crow asked the boss. "I'm just here to help you with the reception party, not to apply for a job here."

"Oh, that's just it mate," Dingo explained, thumping him on the back happily. "When you agreed to help out our beloved Miss Kyona, even for a small amount of time, the rest of us took it upon ourselves to give you a full welcome and treat you like any other newby. So, even if you're staying in the guests' quarters, you're still counted as a new staff member. Welcome to the family R.R.!"

"R.R.?" Crow asked, looking at him suspeciously.

"Rockin' Robin!" the Austrailian laughed out and everyone else joined in, even the new "employee".

"How about you just call me Crow?" he asked, a lot more awake and happier than how he started out.

Thumping him on the back again Dingo agreed and Kyona was about to call the staff meeting to order when she noticed that three seats were still empty.

"Where's Derek, Tamara and Tobias?" she asked.

"Derek and Tamara went to get him out of bed," Marisol answered from the left hand side. "You'd think with him working here for almost two years he'd remember the penalty for breaking rule number three."

"What's the penalty for breaking whatever rule number three is?" Crow asked her curiously.

"Everybody is to wake up at 5:30AM every morning and be down in the staff room by 6AM. If you're not up and dressed by then you get dragged down into the staff room in your pjs, and will only get ten minutes to wash and dress in the staff bathroom- behind me- before your shift starts at 7AM," she recited perfectly, as though she had to tell this rule often.

"Thankfully, since we're closed today for Preparation Day, he and Crow will have more than enough time to get ready," Kyona said. Then she explained further, "This is the day we close the restaurant to take up an inventory of all of the supplies that we have, and to restock on anything we're running low on. Marisol and I usually help the other cooks with that, but since I have to plan the reception and everything it looks like that's where you'll come in, Crow."

Before Crow could say another word a cry came from the hallway.

"LET ME GO PLEEEEEAAASSSSE! I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THERE LOOKING LIKE THIS!"

"You know the rules, Toby," a tired male voice followed the cries of the repeat offender.

"You also know what happens when you break the rules," an equally tired female voice added.

"BUT I DON'T WANT HER TO SEE ME IN THESE!" he kept yelling.

"Not our problem!" the other two chorused, and they finally brought him into view.

_"You've GOT to be kidding me!"_ Crow gawked in surprise at the late riser.

Tobias was struggling between the other two band members who held him, and his change of clothes, by his upper arms, and was turning a brilliant shade of red that clashed horribly with his pajamas. It would not have been too bad but the pajamas were a light shade of sky blue with footies in them, and sprinkled on the surface of the one-piece were...

"Tobias are those... the Care Bears?" Marisol asked in a tired voice.

Stopping his struggling for a moment Tobias looked at the assistant manager and said defensivly, "No, they are NOT the Care Bears! They are the Care Bear _Cousins_."

The corners Kyona's lips twitched a little before she came to his defense, "Don't worry, Tobias. I think they look cute."

"You do?" he asked, his face lit up like a puppy-dog expecting a treat.

Almost all of the employees that were not snickering face-palmed themselves, and shook their heads.

When the trio finally took their seats, Kyona started the meeting, "Okay everyone, listen up because the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get started with Prep Day. As you all know Marshall Kalin Kessler is going to marry Miss Misty Tredwell, but due to a conflict in schedules for those involved, their wedding has been moved up from July to May. Which means we've got less than three months to prepare for the reception party we will be hosting and catering for.

"So for the first three weeks I, along with my friend and volunteer, Crow Hogan will be gathering intel so we can comprise a menu, music preferrences, and options for the decorations. This will be very time consuming, along with running the restaurant to keep our neighbors happy and to help train new chefs, and I will have my hands full, even if more of you agree to help us.

"Fortunatly Marisol has agreed to run the restaurant in my stead until preparations for the reception are complete. So you all will be taking orders from her whenever I am away from the kitchen, or from Enforcer Town should the case may be," Kyona concluded as she resumed her seat at the head of the table.

"But Miss Kyona," Tobias wailed, "even with Miss Marisol taking charge until the reception stuff is out of the way, how will you be able to get anything accomplished, even with your _volunteer_ helping you? He doesn't know anything about the schedules or complex runnings of a business like Martha's Place, and it'll be just as time-consuming trying to show him so he won't interrupt anything important inbetween."

Glaring at the pajamaed waiter Crow said, "Believe or not, Tobias, I am a fast learner and I can keep up with everybody else in this room."

Then he turned to Kyona, "Just show me what to do and I'll do it! No complaints and only a few questions. I'm all yours, _Miss_ Kyona."

Everybody turned their eyes at him in amazement. He was willing to do whatever the manager said, no complaints or anything.

"I hope Cuervo knows what he's getting into. He might have agreed to something that's completely over his cabasa," Alanzo whispered to Dingo and Derek, who nodded in agreement.

Smiling with eyes filled with appreciative tears Kyona replied, "In that case, _Mr_. Crow, I suggest you get yourself washed up and report back here in less than ten minutes."

"BUT WHAT ABOUT THE EXTRA TIME?" both trainees shouted out as Crow grabbed his things and bolted to the staff washroom behind Marisol.

"I have to show you the ropes, don't I? So what better way than on Prep Day," she commented as her other trainee tried to get in front of his new coworker, bundle in hand.

"Out of the way Crone! I have work to do!" Tobias said, struggling against Crow's strong grip on the half-closed bathroom door.

"Not gonna happen, Toady!" the other hissed through gritted teeth as he successfully closed the door and locked it.

Rapping at the door Tobias screamed, "You had better take me seriously, Crane! I have senority status over you!"

"Really hard to take anybody in Care Bear pjs seriously, Toddy!" the red head laughed as the rapping got harder on the locked door.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, THEY'RE THE CARE BEAR COUSINS!"

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. I know I said on the ending note that I would let Crow know what it was like to run a restaurant, but I couldn't resist trying to highlight the rest of The Pack members first. I think you'll find them becoming more involved as a part of how... You'll see! ;D<strong>


	10. Chapter 10: Preparation Day

**Chapter 10: Preparation Day**

When Crow got out of the washroom, in a record time of six minutes, Tobias rushed in and slipped on a bar of soap that had somehow gotten on the floor. The end result was of him landing in a half-drained tub of water and soaking his Care Bear Cousins pajamas.

"This isn't a swimming area! Clean your mess next time you moron!" Crow heard him shout as he shut the door. "Ah man! Playful Heart Monkey and Lots-a-Heart Elephant got all wet!"

Leaning against the wall next to the door Crow burst out laughing, and presently slid down onto the floor in his fit of hysterics.

Through blurry eyes he could tell that the other employees left but Kyona was the only one there, still seating in her chair. She motioned for him to take his seat next to her again, and so he did, gripping his sides and his nightwear the entire time.

After a good five minutes Kyona asked, "You done?"

"Ye-yeah," he said through gleaming eyes. "Is he for-real?"

"Unfortunatly," Kyona nodded. "But he tries his hardest and I want to give him the benefit of a doubt. Besides, while we're busy with the reception plans, Marisol will need all the help she can get. Tobias may act like a spaz, but he knows the workings of this place like he knows those footies."

_"It's a wonder this place hasn't caught on fire yet,"_ Crow thought.

"Speaking of which... If _you_ want to know how everything goes around here we better get started," she grinned while grabbing his hand and dragging him to the door.

"Hold on K! I can't I go to my room and put my things there?" he protested as the woman pulled him toward the kitchen area.

She grabbed his bundle and flung it at a passing woman in a white uniform-dress.

"Can you drop those into Mr. Hogan's room on your way to clean the rooms, Gina?" Kyona shouted.

"No probs Boss!" the other woman shouted back, catching the bundle and adding them on top of the cleaning cart on her way to the rooms.

"There's an elevator hidden in the wall beside the staircase," Kyona answered as Crow wondered how the cart was supposed to get up those stairs.

Opening the door to the kitchen Kyona let go of Crow's hand and let him look at everything around him.

Besides being completely steril the kitchen was humongous!

Clear, locker-sized glass cabinets covered one part of a wall from ceiling to floor, while the other part was filled with drawers that marked the place of the utensils. Gleaming platinum tables with divisions were in the middle of the room, each with a label on the top to tell which station prepared what, from "meats" to "vegitables" with subdivisions inbetween. Three refrigerators covered the wall opposite of the cabinets while a row of ovens and stoves covered the third wall. The final wall, where the food was checked and taken, had two glass doors on either side.

Even with so much stuff in the room there was still enough walking space for three people to pass without bumping into each other.

"Not bad, huh?" Kyona asked fondly while cupping Crow's mouth and closing it. "This might sound hard to believe but this area was originally used as a liquor room. Half of the tables and cabinets were hidden under old bottles while the rest needed some serious cleaning. But it's amazing what a little time and a lot of cleaning products can do."

Grinning Crow looked at the chef and said, "I wouldn't doubt it."

Upon seeing her smile warmingly at him Crow almost became intranced and quickly asked, "So, what's in the cabinets and stuff?"

Pulling his hand gently Kyona showed Crow where all of the ingrediants and utensils were stored while the kitchen staff went around the areas with clipboards in their hands.

One opened the top left cabinet to check on the spices that were stored in clear jars, and made little check marks or notes after opening each one that looked either half-full or nearly wiped out. Another opened one of the refrigerators and looked at all that was stored in there while quickly checking off her list, then reclosing the door. A third went to a door next to the one Crow and Kyona went through, and opened it to reveal a storage room full of paper plates, cups, to-go trays and other recyclable items for the customers on the go, also checking his clipboard.

"As you can see we try to keep the place well-stocked with everything that the customer could want," Kyona said, continuing the tour out of the kitchen and back into the hallway.

Beside the staff room there was another room marked "Washing Rooms". There two rooms were occupied with different machines. The first one they entered had dishwashers, sinks and drying cloths lining the walls while the second one was styled like a laudromat, with washers, stacked dryers, and folding/hanging areas. This one was much larger, and the washers and corresponding dryers had dry-erase boards on them that had the words "Room #" written in the same cursive writing that Crow's letter was in.

"Very nice," the red head commented as he and his guide went out the door.

"Thanks. I try to make sure everything here gets cleaned and ready," Kyona answered as she kept his hand in hers and continued showing the trainee around the premises.

Coming to the staff quarters Kyona said, "I want to show you something I've never shown anybody before they work here."

"I thought you didn't play favories," he grinned.

"I don't, but since you don't technically work here- no matter what Dingo says- I thought you might like to see this," she smirked as she opened the door to a suit similiar to his and pulled him in. "This is my office, private entrance into the garden, and sleeping area."

Crow could tell this room was exactly how Kyona described it. The sitting area had a mahogany desk in front of two windowed doors that opened into the lush garden he saw yesterday, and there were the plush chairs on either side of the desk. At the right side of it was the entrance to Kyona's bedroom, and at opposite sides of the door frame were tall, white bookshelves that held pictures, framed documents, and an assortment of books.

Kyona let go of his hand for the first time that day (much to his dismay) and excused herself to the bathroom. So Crow made his way over to one of the bookshelves to look at the pictures that were framed. Once he got there he could not help but smile.

In a dark-blue frame was a picture of a group of eight year olds at a birthday party in an old dining room. Yusei, who was the lucky birthday boy, was sitting in the middle of the table, an embarrassed look on his face as he smiled for the picture and a lopsided hat on his spikey head. Jack was behind him, gripping his shoulder at an angle and smiling at the camera. (Five minutes after the picture was taken Jack successfully pushed Yusei out of the chair and sat in it himself.)

On opposite sides of the birthday boy and his rival were Crow and Kyona. Crow was smiling and winking in the picture, holding a cup of orange juice in his hand. Kyona was on the other side, also smiling but with a noise maker and it was aimed at Jack, who kept his eyes on the camera. (After Jack's stunt Kyona placed a whoopi cushion on the chair before the blonde sat down. When Jack jumped up from embarrassment Kyona loudly blew her noise maker and he toppled over.)

In another frame, painted violet, was a scene from Jack and Yusei's first table duel. In it both of the tweleve year old duelists had their ace Monster Cards (Red Dragon Archfiend and Stardust Dragon) facing each other and there were two face-down cards on Yusei's side of the field. A calculator on Jack's side had 2700 and another on Yusei's side had 1600. The tricksters were gathered on Yusei's side while a small group of girls were on Jack's side.

A third picture, surrounded by a light brown frame, had a picture of a middle-aged, Hispanic woman. She was dressed in a burgandy dress with a white shawl and wore a tear-drop turquoise necklace. Her face, which was starting to wrinkle, was smiling and surrounded by tight, black curls.

"Martha," a small voice said from behind Crow, "but you already know that."

Turning Crow saw a full grown Kyona with a sad smile on her face, her golden eyes sparkled with unshed tears, as she moved next to him to look at the picture.

"You think she would've liked what I did with this place? Naming it after her and everything?" she asked in a voice that threatened to crack.

Putting a comforting arm around her shoulders Crow said, in a steadier voice, "I think she would've loved the fact that you accomplished your dream, and I think she would've been really happy about how well you cleaned this place up."

Gripping his hand Kyona replied, "Thanks Crow", and leaned her head against his chest, closing her eyes as a small tear ran down her otherwise happy face.

The two stayed like that for a minutes as they remembered the good times they had under Martha's care, and how much they really missed her.

For Crow and the others, even if it had been eight years since her death, it was still hard to let her go knowing that it was not like the time with the Dark Signers and that, no matter how many duels they won, they could never bring her back.

After another minute Crow broke the silence and said, in a much stronger voice, "But I don't think Martha'll be very proud of either of us if we keep dwelling on the past like this. She'd want us to quit being sad and for _you_ to continue your tour. I still have a lot to know and I haven't seen the garden yet!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Kyona asked in a more cheerful voice.

With that she spun out of his single armed hug and hauled him to the double doors, a smile on both of their faces as they went out into the lushest part of the dusty plains.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. Sorry about the long wait, but I had a lot going on. I hope you all like this and don't forget to give me your input!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11: Mestizo and Raza's Test

**Chapter 11: Mestizo and Raza's Test**

Going out into the garden Crow took in three things.

One was of the huge expanse of the garden that contained every fruit, vegetable, flowered plant, and herb imaginable in the current climate. There were the usual tomatoes, carrots, okra, green beans, peas, lettuce and cabbages, along with some apples, grapes, bananas, oranges, and grapefruits. Then there were some unique editions, such as kiwis, peanuts, bay leaves, tea leaves, and other plants Crow did not recognise.

The second thing was of a section at the back of the garden that contained some sort of green house, which was marked "Compost Area", and a smaller building marked "Recycling Area" with the three arrows going in a triangle.

The final thing was of Tobias carrying the covered dish that he saw earlier, and running like crazy from two dogs, that were bigger than average and looked a golden-brown. They were barking and running after the frightened employee, and it was very clear they wanted whatever was under the dome on the platter.

"Toby! Quit playing with Mestizo and Raza! You know they play rough when they're hungry!" Kyona yelled through her cupped hand.

"I've been trying to feed them, but they still don't like me-OW!" Tobias responded as one of the dogs took a bite out of his seat.

At that moment Kyona whistled and the animals turned their attention to her. They stopped chasing their prey and went into a steady, fighting stance. Their ears flattened on their head, their backs arced, and small growling noises came from them as they looked at the whistler.

Kyona went into a stance of her own. She let go of Crow's hand, bent her knees, arced her back, and faced the dogs, her eyes narrowed and face completely serious. Her arms were slightly bent and her hands were cupped.

Crow took some time to look at Kyona's form for a very brief, blush-filled second before his eyes travelled to the dogs.

They were bigger than any other dogs he had seen, but could tell that one was a male and the other a female because of the small height difference and the way they were standing. The other thing Crow noticed about them was that they had long leg-bracelets on them.

One, possibly the male, had a turquios-colored bracelet with a black stone facing the front. The other, possibly the female, had a white-colored bracelet with a brown stone facing its front.

Crow then turned around and saw, to his annoyance and fury, that Tobias had crept up beside him, still holding the platter. The waiter was giving Kyona the same once-over that Crow had, except his eyes had a hungry, lustful look in them as they lingered at her most... _noticable_ features.

_"If Kyona knew that this creep was drooling over her like that she'd fire him, or beat him to a pulp whichever comes first. I vote for the Toby Pulp,"_ Crow thought as he turned his attention back to Kyona.

The dogs and Kyona broke into a run. Kyona was still bent over slightly with her arms outstretched, and coming at the animals at the same speed. When they met in the middle...

The dogs became gentle at her touch and Kyona was being greeted by long, wet tongues as she laughed and ruffled their fur.

"How are my little _cachorros_ this morning?" she cooed as they finished licking her face. "You hungry?"

At that the dogs barked and wagged their tails as their owner stood erect once again.

"Crow could you bring the tray over here please?" she called over her shoulder.

"Sure K," he smiled, turning to take the plate.

"But I've got it Miss Kyona," Tobias replied as he tried to keep the tray out of Crow's reach.

"I know," Kyona sighed, "but Crow's gonna be here for a while so I think it would be appropriate for him to formaly meet my puppies. (_"Puppies!"_ Crow thought.) So either give him the tray willingly or I will be forced to order you to clean out the Compost Area and spread it over the plants. Again."

"One tray coming up!"

With that Tobias begrudgedily passed the tray to Crow, who was surprised by how heavy it was, and carried it as carefully as he could to the dogs and their owner while the other male coughed out what seemed like _"Drop it"_.

On his approach the dogs stopped wagging their tails and stood at-attention, looking at him intensely. Their eyes took him in and they glanced at each other briefly, as though they were having a conversation between them.

When Crow finally got to Kyona she took the tray in her own hands and held it like it was nothing.

"What in the-?" Crow began.

"Alright Crow," Kyona cut him off, "when I lift off the lid I want you to hold whatever is under here in your hands and present them to Mestizo and Raza."

"O-kay," Crow said.

Kyona lifted the lid off of the tray and under it was, not the gourmet breakfast Crow had dreamed of, but four large dog dishes. Two of them, which were painted brown and turquios respectively, were filled with big chunks of medium-raw meat. The others were black and white respectively and filled with water.

Grabbing a piece from each of the bowls Crow knelt down before the animals and presented it to them, palms up and meat in the middle.

The dogs approached the stranger slowly and took a sniff of the meat before turning their eyes to look into his.

"Keep eye contact and don't blink," Kyona whispered.

"Gotcha'," Crow whispered back.

Mestizo and Raza made eye contact with each other a few seconds later and opened their jaws over the offered chunks.

"Keep still," the owner whispered again.

The beasts then chomped down on the meat, barely touching Crow's skin, and lifted their heads back up to look in his eyes once again before they raised themselves on their calves and placed their feet on his shoulders and chest.

"Ky-"

But Crow was cut off again by the sounds of his laughter as the dogs began licking his face. They then put their full weight on him and toppled him over as they continued to playfully lick and rub against him.

"K-KYONA!" Crow cried out between shouts of laughter. "C-C'mon now down! Sit! KYON-HAHAHA!"

Kyona whistled again and the hounds removed themselves from Crow, allowing him to stand back up with dirty paw-prints on his shirt.

The dogs made their way to stand at each side of their mistress and faced their visitor with sprakling yellow eyes.

"Apparently they like you Crow," Kyona said as she bent down to them again.

"And apparently I like them too," Crow smiled, bending beside Kyona.

Together they placed the dishes in front of the hungry animals and Kyona gave them a "formal" introduction.

"This handsome gentle-dog is Mestizo," she indicated to the one with the turquios bracelet, "and this lovely lady is Raza, his mate," she indicated to the one with the white bracelet.

"And this, my _cachorros_, is my friend from the Satelite Sector-" Kyona started.

"The sweet, daring, fun-loving, good-looking, kind, out-going and all-time great guy, Crow Hogan!" Crow proclaimed.

The hounds just looked at him, looked at each other, shifted their shoulders slightly and resumed eating as Kyona giggled at her friend's little display.

"Give 'em time, oh Mr. All-Time-Great-Guy, and I'm sure they'll get your humor," Kyona laughed.

Soon they were both laughing so hard they had to stand up again or collapse on the ground.

Still laughing the duo left the dogs to eat their breakfast as they passed another silent message to each other.

"Him?" Raza asked her mate.

"Him," Mestizo confirmed.

The couple then looked at the disgruntled worker as the latter gave the passing Crow a much stronger Evil Eye, and once again relayed a message.

"Trouble?" Mestizo asked.

"Trouble," Raza confirmed.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. Hello all! I'm sorry I haven't been able to download anything more about this story, but my computer has been giving me trouble and I've had to use my parents' old computer to get anything downloaded.<strong>

**But what do you think? Do you like the chemistry that's going on between Kyona's pets and Crow? How about the foreshadowing involving Tobias? Is he going to cause our Trick Stars trouble?**

**Tune it to find out, but don't forget to Review later!**


End file.
